


Of Swift Hunts and Sharp Gazes

by Gaysuke_Takahashi, Kiyana



Series: Of Street Races and Spider Legs [7]
Category: Initial D
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death, Shinichi doesn't have a last name but hey he's here too, So that's a thing??, and even then not the entire chapter, just for one chapter tho, uh mentions of violence and gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-07-29 18:04:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 83,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20086486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaysuke_Takahashi/pseuds/Gaysuke_Takahashi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyana/pseuds/Kiyana
Summary: Takumi never thought that he'd be traveling Japan as a racer, and not even after he'd gotten into racing. But here he was, and he had to admit, he was having fun as he stood at Keisuke's side. As races pass, the drama amps and there's the chance for danger at every turn, but with his beloved oni by his side, the spider can take on any challenge.Now if he could just explain why he was feeling anxiety crawling up his back.Set in the fourth stage.





	1. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Project D begins preparation for their first race.

“How in the world could you already need new tires this soon!? You just bought those!” Tohru sat down his cup as he remained reclined.

“Those were cheap, the grip’s no good. I need a set I can count on for timed races.” his date looked down some. “Come on, please Naho, just half the cost is the most I ask! I can easily pay you back when I get my summer bonus!”

“You spend far too much money on that car.” Naho grit out agitatedly, prompting him to give her a wide eyed look. “You should be thinking about the future instead, and save money. It’s been six years since we started going out, and at the rate you’re going with that car, we’ll never get married.” Tohru’s head nearly collided with the table, the urge to slash the air with his tail running strong through him.

“Not this again, Naho. I’ve heard this same complaint more times than I can count.”

“And I keep telling you because you still refuse to get it!” he felt his feathers rustle as they fell into silence. “Fine. If you’re going to be like that, I’ll lend you money.”

“Really?” he exclaimed softly, his eyes glowing. “You mean it!?”

“Yeah-”

“Oh! Thank you!”

“BUT! Only under one condition!” Tohru fell silent, looking at her intently as her face turned serious, and harsh. “If you lose this next race, you have to give up racing, completely!” Tohru felt his heart drop.

“W-What?”

“I mean it, Tohru. If you don’t agree, or if you don’t keep this promise to me, I’ll actually break up with you and never look back.” Tohru’s eyes couldn’t get any wider, racing was one of the few things outside of her that he had, and she knew that! It was the one thing that kept him as happy as he was. His ears drooped beneath his disguise. He… he loved her too much to say no.

“I… alright. I promise.”

~0~

“Here they come!” Atsuro exclaimed, catching everyone’s attention as headlights appeared down the road. “It’s an FD and… an 86!?” Tohru watched in awe as they pulled in, his feathers shifting once again.

“So cool…” he muttered. He watched as they got out of their cars, first a fairly sleepy and bored looking brunet in a leather jacket, and the next a pretty intimidating looking blonde, both moving to stand pretty close to one another as they spoke. Something about them was… off. Tohru frowned.

“Ryousuke!” one of the others called, knocking gently on one of the vans, what looked like a mechanic by his side. The two huddled together looked over in the van’s direction, obviously curious. “We’ve arrived! Please wake up! Ryouuuusukeeee!”

“He’ll be out soon, Fumihiro.” the blonde called. “He’s not _that_ deep of a sleeper!”

“You would think he is, he hasn’t opened his eyes once since we left Takasaki!” that prompted the blonde to leave the brunet’s side.

“He was likely thinking, or napping, who knows.” the blonde stated as he came to a stop near them, the brunet watching with curiosity. “Aniki knows what works most efficiently for him when we’re on the move, so you shouldn’t worry so much.” the window rolled down as Keisuke spoke, and Tohru picked up a deep voice inside asking for a water bottle. The mechanic was quick to hop to it and after a moment, the person in the vehicle stepped out, prompting Fumihiro to head in their direction.

“Hello!” he greeted pleasantly as he stopped before them and bowed politely. “We’re Project D, from Gunma.”

“And we’re Seven Star Leaf.” Atsuro responded. “Since it’s our team that mainly runs this course, you’ll be going against us.”

“It will be our pleasure! I’m sure you’ve already been informed of this, but we would like to have the course for tonight for training. Would you agree to that, with the actual race being tomorrow?”

“Yeah, we’ve heard about that. It’s fine with me.” Atsuro’s posture changed slightly. “As far as I can see, you’ve only got two cars. An FD, and an 86. Is that it?”

“Well, we’re an expeditionary team. We had to cut down on the number of cars to eliminate waste. The 86 is our downhill specialist, and the FD handles what the 86 can’t. Those two are this team’s twin aces.” Tohru’s eyes widened as he turned his eyes to look at the two drivers, the both of them no longer huddled together and instead focused on a mechanic. Fumihiro gave them a small smile. “If that’s all, I’ll go tell them that we can get started.” and with that, he turned away and began his way back towards Project D.

“You know, they’re much more polite than I expected.” Atsuro commented. “Sort of a letdown, actually. The fact that they race with just two cars is unexpected enough, but what’s up with the vans? A support team, perhaps?” Tohru’s eyes wandered over to the man who stepped from the first van, seemingly engrossed in conversation, and strained his ears to listen in out of curiosity.

“The 86’s underbody will end up like this.” he heard one of the mechanics say faintly as he handed him a clipboard. Ryousuke nodded.

“I understand, this is good. Make it so that, as much as possible, Takumi voices his opinions and be made to think for himself.”

“Huh?” the mechanic questioned. “I mean, yeah, I will, but…”

“Takumi, despite his nature, is quiet and soft spoken. He prefers to keep complaints to himself if he doesn’t think they’re important enough to say aloud. I know that he can’t say anything of importance yet, but it is very crucial now that he be made to think. Does that clear that up, Matsumoto?”

“Yeah, I get it now.” and with that, the three scattered.

“Hmm.” Tohru responded, and Atsuro continued on.

“These guys aren’t your normal team. Usually, in a team, everyone races, but for a support crew to tag along just for two cars? They’re like traveling circuit racers.”

“I’m not gonna be fooled by haughty appearances, Atsuro!” Tohru nearly snapped, agitated by his friend’s unease. “Just what in the hell can these guys possibly do in a single night!? Our team’s been active for two years. At a moderate guess, we’ve run this course thousands of times! Support team or not, it won’t make any difference!” he caught sight of the brunet looking towards him with narrowed eyes and felt his gut lurch, that one is a creature. He’s unsure of the others, but knows that the brunet can’t be the only one. “A race is between two drivers, right!? In a battle between 1.6-liter cars, there’s no way in hell I’ll lose! This is our _pride_ we’re talking about! You think I’m gonna be beaten by some old 86!?” the brunet’s eyes narrowed further, obviously able to hear what he was saying and not liking it one bit.

~0~

Takumi felt his jaw clench as he clicked a little, not liking what he had overheard from the rival team. If there was one thing he hated, it was being underestimated for driving an 86.

“Takumi, have you watched the video?” Ryousuke’s voice asked behind him, and Takumi turned.

“Mmm. About forty times.”

“Then you should have a clear image of the course in your head.” Nejibana stuck her head out of Takumi’s coat pocket, before ducking back in, commenting about the night chill. Takumi nodded. “Run the first five times at seventy percent. There will be a difference between the course as envisioned and how it actually is when racing it. Your first job; adjust to that discrepancy.”

“Right.”

“You understand that as well, right Keisuke? We won’t be picking up the pace until this stage is completed.”

“Yeah, I got it, aniki.”

“Good, now hop to it!” the two of them nodded, locking eyes for a moment before hopping into their own cars and starting them up, the both of them pulling out and heading off at the same time. Movement caught Ryousuke’s attention and he turned in time to see the red MX-5 pull away and follow them down.

~0~

“Ah, Itsuki, you’re in a rather good mood today, aren’t you?” Iketani commented as he watched him hum as he cleaned one of the pump’s displays.

“That’s because it’s almost payday, my good sir!” Iketani’s eyes brightened and he tilted his head.

“Ah, that’s right. It’ll be your first paycheck since you started working full-time.”

“That’s right!” Itsuki pulled his arms towards himself and looked ready to explode. “This feels so much different from working part-time! It feels like I’ve truly become an adult!”

“So, what are you gonna spend your first check on, huh?”

“I’m gonna put turbo on my 85.” Iketani’s face shifted uncomfortably, obviously not following the idea of an 85 with turbo, but Itsuki paid no heed.

“Your 85, huh…”

“As it is, she can already pull ahead of your S13, no problem! I’ve already got an estimate on a loan!” Iketani let out a sound of pure exasperation. “Little by little, I’m growing closer to realizing my dream!” Itsuki began excitedly jogging in place. “It won’t be long now before Akina’s 85 becomes a rumor, just like Takumi’s 86!” Iketani snorted.

“Well, listen to you!” he laughed, and noticed Yuichi look up from what he was doing inside the store.

“I wanna be like Takumi, tearing up the mountain pass in style!” Yuichi smiled and shook his head, prompting Iketani to smile as well.

“Ah, speaking of Takumi, I wonder what he’s doing right now?”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the first race falls underway, and is rife with drama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AFTER-POST NOTE: I'm burnt out, I've been working on this AU non-stop for like, two months at least, and I'm burnt out. I'll be taking a break for a while, so this fic is on hiatus.

“Wow...” Fumihiro commented mutedly, his feathers shifting slightly as he stood beside Takumi. “How scary. There are no gutter covers on the sides.”

_“I’d heard about this from Ryousuke.”_ Takumi commented, and Fumihiro looked at him. He’d lately become more comfortable with being fully shifted around them, but right now he was only half as his limbs gripped one another. _“This is the first time I’ve seen such a deep gutter.”_

“Gunma area roads generally have concrete covers, and since we ran it at night yesterday, it hadn’t stood out to us.” he narrowed his eyes and flexed his wings, a single light brown feather falling from them. “Make no mistake, if we fall into this thing at full speed, out undersides would be toast.”

_“Ryousuke had said something about this yesterday.”_ Takumi commented offhandedly, and Fumihiro turned his eyes to him once more as they turned and began to walk back up the road. _“He said that how we tackle the ditch would be the deciding factor in whether we win, or lose.”_

“Ryousuke is a sphinx of many words, and those words tend to be puzzling. Most of the time, none of us can understand what he means or what he’s thinking right up until the very end.” Fumihiro sighed. “It’s hell, air sirens weren’t meant for that level of riddle-solving. Besides that, he probably just meant that you should make sure not to fall in. Anyway that you think on it, it will always turn out as Ryousuke says. Just believe in his words and you’ll do fine.” Takumi nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence as they continued back.

~0~

“They’ve requested we do the downhill first.” Fumihiro commented, prompting Takumi to raise a brow. “And rather than a simultaneous start, it will be a game of cat and mouse. They want to start off as the mouse, and if we lose the first race, the whole thing is over.” the spider’s eyes hardened.

“Don’t worry yourself into a molt, Fumihiro.” Keisuke commented. “I believe in Takumi.”

“Alright!” Matsumoto’s voice called, and they turned to look at him. “She’s good! You guys can start in at any time!” Ryousuke gave him a firm nod, and he stood, popping his back. “Ough, that made my back sore, maybe I’m getting old.”

“You’re only one hundred and twenty something, you damn fox.” Keisuke remarked. “You haven’t even begun to sprout your second tail!”

“And look at me, I have back problems!”

“Bullshit!” Takumi rolled his eyes as they began to bicker and got in his 86, driving it to start and getting back out to meet with his opponent, who’d scent was so jumbled and mixed and Takumi couldn’t even begin trying to identify what he was. His opponent held out his hand.

“I’m Tohru Suetsugu. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Takumi Fujiwara.” he responded, grasping Tohru’s hand. He felt him tense, his opponent’s eyes widening slightly, before they parted and both got into their cars, Tohru after a moment’s hesitation to look at his tires. They took a moment, before they were off, the race was underway and Takumi felt his nerves ignite.

~0~

“I believe going first was the right choice.” Tohru said, his talons flexing around the steering wheel. “If your rhythm gets thrown off, the downhill can quickly turn deadly. I need to be relaxed. Rather than winning or losing, it’s more important that you give everything you’ve got.” Tohru’s ears twitched and rotated as he drifted the corner, trying hard to hear discrepancies in anything over the roar of his engine.

He wasn’t going to lose to some jankey old 86.

~0~

“Compared to the 86,” Ryousuke began, catching the group’s attention. “The Roadster, or MX-5, is even more compact. It’s small size and weight allows for very nimble footwork, and that is its greatest weapon! It’s likely that it’s driver will, in my opinion, bet everything on high-speed corner entry. It's a fairly unrefined style.” Fumihiro took notice of even Tomiguchi paying rapt attention as Ryousuke info dumped. “Each and every corner will be taken via inertia drift. It’s a driving style in which everything begins when cornering speed has been taken almost as high as it possibly can be. Maybe it could even be said that his technique using the Roadster itself, a car that lacks power.”

“So, what…” Keisuke cut in. “Are you saying that he and Takumi are mirrors or something?”

“In a way, yes. He’s much like the relationship between Takumi and his beloved 86, with a single exception.” he trailed off for a moment and didn’t add anything to that. “The crux of this course is the area that appears at the end, a continuous stretch where the side ditches are uncovered. Victory rests upon the strategy executed in that area.”

“About that,” Fumihiro cut in. “Is there really any action that can be taken aside from just avoiding the ditches?”

“Of course.” Ryousuke responded, his eyes turning to lock with Fumihiro’s own. “I’ve already informed Takumi of it. Without advanced load shift techniques, it would be very dangerous to attempt, but I know for a fact that Takumi and Keisuke can do it.” Keisuke turned towards him, wide eyed. “They are the twin aces of this team, I’m completely positive that they can do it!” his eyes caught sight of movement in the trees but he didn’t dare look up. If he was really here, he couldn’t have his cover blown. They’d talk, after the race, if he was really here.

~0~

“I’d expected as much. Until now, no one has been able to keep up with me this far.” Tohru’s tail smacked against the seat. He glanced in his rear view, his ears flicking downwards as he registered just how close to him the 86 was. “There is no way in hell that is a normal 86, but besides that, the true problem is the guy behind the wheel!” his mind jumped back to when they shook hands, the aura he gave out giving him the impression of spider legs. He was a strong adversary, not to be underestimated.

He shivered.

“He’s incredible. But despite this, I don’t feel like he’s gaining on me. Either it’s taking everything in his power to keep up with me, or he’s holding back.” he grit his teeth, his fangs nearly puncturing his lips. “Whatever, I can win this race! If he tries too hard to keep up with me, whatever happens is on him! Pull out if you value your life!”

~0~

“Ryousuke, the 86 still hasn’t closed the gap.” Matsumoto commented, and Ryousuke’s face was the slightest bit smug.

“Oh, I know.” he chuckled. “That is still to come.”

“Aniki.” Keisuke cut in. “Just what are you planning?”

“You’ll see, Keisuke. Trust me, when it comes time, that mate of yours will bare his fangs!” Keisuke looked vaguely amused by that.

“I know you’re serious, but that was actually funny and I hate it.” Ryousuke chuckled, while everyone else looked completely lost. “Spider demon? Fangs? It’s a pun, a terrible one.”

~0~

_“Master, I half miss the pinging the car made when you went too fast.”_ Nejibana groused, and Takumi hummed.

_“I do too, Bana.”_

_“DON’T CALL ME THAT!”_

_“What are you gonna do to stop me? Bite me?”_

_“I’LL RUN AWAY TO KEISUKE AGAIN! HE TREATS ME RESPECTFULLY!”_

_“You mean he spoils you rotten.”_

_“YOU’RE A MEAN MASTER!”_

_“And you prefer Keisuke because he caters to your whims, when he can understand them?”_

_“YEAH! HE’D BE A BETTER MASTER THAN YOU!”_

_“So this is your official notice of desolvation?” Takumi rose a brow. “Over a nickname?”_ Nejibana was stunned silent.

_“N-Notice of…”_ she trailed off and made herself look small. _“No.”_

_“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Bana, but you’re honestly overreacting. I call you Bana because I think it’s a cute nickname, and if it really bothers you that much, I’ll stop.”_ they were silent for a while, Nejibana obviously contemplating, and Takumi turning his focus back onto the road.

**_‘You both need to talk these things out.’_ **Spider commented mutedly. **_‘This is too much for right now.’_**

~0~

“What?” Atsuro began, catching Matsumoto’s attention quickly. The kitsune closed his eyes and strained to listen in. “Where are you watching the race from?... THE C-21 HAIRPIN!?”

“What!?” someone else exclaimed. “They’re already that far in!?” Atsuro hung up and stared at his phone.

“What does this mean? They’re running tail to nose. They’re nearly halfway through the course and the 86 is still on Tohru’s tail.”

“But that’s impossible! There’s no way that anyone could keep up with Tohru this long!”

“I don’t want to believe it either, Shinichi. For that 86 to be this fast… I’ve got a bad feeling about all this. Tohru absolutely despises losing, so he’ll dig in his heels and get more and more worked up. This downhill might just get dangerous. One of them might just crash! If Tohru gets himself hurt over a race, I’m gonna swipe my claws across his face!” Matsumoto tuned himself back out at that, turning to report what he’d overheard to Ryousuke. If the Seven Star Leaf team consisted of creatures, then maybe they could relax. His tail was starting to cramp up, and he wanted to let it free.

“In an underpowered FR, he’s a downhill specialist.” he heard Ryousuke say as he walked over. “He has several points in common with Takumi.”

“Both seem to have an instinctive sense for speed, and have mastered cornering at high speeds.” Fumihiro commented.

“Right. Perhaps what decisively separates the two will be the degree to which they’ve refined their technique.”

“And since Takumi is playing cat in this first race, what he does with that will determine the outcome.” Keisuke amended, and Ryousuke nodded.

“What do you mean?” Fumihiro asked.

“Takumi’s been observing his opponent’s style from behind this whole time.” Ryousuke began his response. “He’ll likely have begun understanding it on a sensory level by now. As I speak, he’ll be in the middle of figuring out it’s weakness, and a way to exploit it.” Fumihiro’s eyes widened and he turned to process that, allowing Matsumoto to catch Ryousuke’s gaze and draw him over. Here we go.

~0~

_“His driving is chaotic, dangerously so.”_ Takumi commented as they drifted around the corner, the faces of spectators speeding by as they both swerved terribly close to the guardrail.

_“This is almost like the first race against Sudou.”_ Nejibana commented mutedly.

_“Mmm. But, I feel like I’ve sorta got it down now. By acting as the cat, I’ve been able to see the difference between how he and I race.”_ Nejibana clicked a little, likely excited. _“Now, I just need to pinpoint his weaknesses.”_

_“What a change from racing on Akina.”_ Nejibana sighed, and Takumi nearly rolled his eyes.

~0~

_“You spend far too much money on that car.”_ Naho’s voice echoed in his head, forcing Tohru’s talons to dig into the wheel a little before he forced himself to relax. _“If you lose this next race, you have to give up racing, completely! I mean it, Tohru. If you don’t agree, or if you don’t keep this promise to me, I’ll actually break up with you and never look back.”_

“I ain’t gonna lose!” Tohru growled. “I may love you, Naho, but I ain’t about to give up racing any time soon!” his eyes drifted back towards the rear view and he nearly choked when he realized that the 86 was still on his tail, and much closer to him than before. His fur stood on end and his feathers ruffled wildly. “He’s right up on me! Why!? This is my driving we’re talking about here! I’m the best racer there is! Just what the hell is happening!?” each corner taken lost no ground for the 86, in fact it was slowly but surely getting closer and closer, and he felt anxiety begin to crawl up his spine.

This was the same feeling he got when shaking his opponent’s hand.

“Just what the hell is this guy?”

~0~

“Tohru still can’t shake that 86?” this time both Matsumoto and Tomiguchi heard Atsuro begin to speak.

“Just what the hell is going on!?” Shinichi exclaimed. “I just don’t get it! How could anyone keep up with Tohru!?” Matsumoto and Tomiguchi locked eyes, something about that one seemed oddly familiar.

“Tohru’s greatest weapon,” Atsuro picked back up, catching their attention once again. “Learned from a long time of racing, is the unbeatable speed of his corner entry.”

“Right! No one should be able to match that cornering!”

“But, his opponent seems to know all the corners here, inside and out. It’s way beyond having run it just one night. Not only has Tohru not shaken off that 86, but it’s actually keeping up, and is slowly gaining on him!”

“But that’s just! Not! Possible!”

“He sounds like Kenta did, earlier last year.” Tomiguchi muttered out of the blue, and Matsumoto snorted.

“Yeah, actually. He kinda does, doesn’t he?”

~0~

_“His cornering is incredible, he must know every inch of this course.”_ Takumi commented, watching his opponent drift each corner without hesitation or pause._ “There’s just a small problem.”_

_“Huh?”_ Nejibana tilted her head as she looked back at Takumi, confused.

_“There’s this instance, right in the time between recovering from corners and entering the next moment of breaking, where the 86 is faster. Why? It’s not a difference in automotive power.”_

_“Master?”_

_“I’m problem solving aloud, Nejibana, don’t mind me.”_

~0~

“On a mountain road of complex terrain, there are more corners than can even be counted. During a downhill race in particular, there are far more ‘partial’ areas, which are neither straights nor curves, than one would ever expect.”

“There _are_ lots of places where you’d waver between going in at full or half throttle. I saw them when scouting the gutters with Takumi earlier today.”

“Mmm. The ability to adapt to those sorts of areas will most likely be the difference between the racing of Takumi and his opponent.” he turned to Keisuke and locked his gaze on him. “You remember that. In the theory of high-speed public racing that I espouse, this is a most important point.”

“Right.” Ryousuke looked at his watch, then towards the sky contemplatively. “What is it, aniki?”

“It won’t be long before they’ve approached the deciding point of this race.” Keisuke immediately understood and nodded, while Fumihiro let out an odd, and quiet screech.

“Ryousuke, I’ve been contemplating that for ages and I still can’t get it. Don’t leave me hanging, tell me, what kind of plan have you and Takumi cooked up? Just how in the hell is he gonna be using those uncovered drainage ditches?” Matsumoto noticed Atsuro lower his arm again, and tuned out his pack talking in favor of listening in on the other team. He was finding their reactions to Takumi’s racing vaguely amusing.

“I have no clue whether to be surprised or not that Tohru is still being closely tailed.”

“Where are they now?” Shinichi asked.

“Past C-10.”

“C-10!?”

“Their 86 is a lot better than we’d thought.”

“W-Wait, Atsuro, even if Tohru can’t shake him off, that doesn’t mean he’ll lose! They’ll likely just change positions and go into a second race! The real battle’s still to come, there’s no way Tohru could be overtaken!” Matsumoto resisted the urge to laugh and merely let out a snort, catching Tomiguchi’s attention for a second before he looked back away, clearly uninterested, and focused back on what he had been doing before.

“You’re completely correct, Shinichi. This whole overtaking thing in unthinkable. The area they’ve gone into is gonna be an impossible one.”

“Right!” they all fell silent, prompting Matsumoto to tune back out.

“Oi, Tomiguchi.” he spoke, only to be ignored. “Hello in there?” he whistled sharply and got no response. “Just what the hell are you focused on?” he walked up beside the other mechanic and paused when he noticed the huge moth flying around one of the lights, Tomiguchi’s eyes following it closely. He chuckled, and pat his friend’s head. “Typical werecat, even in your human form you can’t help but watch insects, huh?” he didn’t expect a response and instead walked towards the moth, catching it easily.

“Hey!” Tomiguchi exclaimed, looking extremely put out.

“Don’t hey me, you damn cat, Takumi’s race is almost over, have you done your last minute checks on the FD?”

“No, and I won’t for another two minutes, let the moth go.”

“You’ll watch it for an hour if I let it go.”

“JUST-”

“Matsumoto is right.” Ryousuke called in their direction. “You’ll watch it and we won’t be able to snap you out of your trance until the moth goes away. It’s good that he got you out now instead of later.” Tomiguchi let out a growl, agitated, and he turned away. Matsumoto know that if he wasn’t human right now he’d be poofed up, and nearly lost it at that image.

“Ryousuke, you still haven’t told me that strategy.” Fumihiro groused, and Keisuke snickered.

“I was getting to that before Matsumoto caught my attention.” Ryousuke responded. “The strategy for the uncovered ditch that I explained for Takumi, involves that specialty technique he’d already acquired.”

“You mean that ‘drain drop’ think he does sometimes?”

“Takumi said that his dad calls it a ‘gutter run’.” Keisuke cut in, and Ryousuke nodded at them both.

“Right to both of you.”

“So you’re having him use that?” Fumihiro looked incredulous.

“Absolutely not. It’s not applicable with this type of ditch. Neither of us are that crazy.” Keisuke snickered once again. “The strategy is to use the exact opposite of the gutter run.”

~0~

“He’s unbelievable, I haven’t been able to shake him for this entire race!” Tohru exclaimed, actually awed as his feathers shifted agitatedly. “I really want to get a look at his driving from behind! His driving, just what kind of driving is it!?” he glanced at his rear view again and felt excitement pool in his gut, his tail smacking against his seat again.

His tail really did convey all of his emotions, huh?

“How is he tackling my home course? How much different is his style from my own?” he shifted gears and focused on the road more. “No matter what, I’m going into that second race! I have to see this guy’s technique!” his eyes sharpened and he tensed as the uncovered drainage ditches came into view, forcing him to pull away just the slightest amount to avoid them.

~0~

_“His cut-in timing is a little early!”_ Nejibana commented excitedly, nearly bouncing on the dash, and Takumi’s eyes unfocused as time slowed, an image of himself pulling ahead of his opponent flashing by before he focused once again.

_“THAT’S IT! I’VE SEEN THE LINE!”_ he announced, and immediately followed along, his eyes catching sight of his opponent’s own widening in shock as he pulled alongside him.

_“DON’T FALL IN! DON’T FALL IN!”_ Nejibana cried, and Takumi grit his teeth.

_“I won’t!”_

~0~

“YOU IDIOT!” Tohru yelled as he noticed the 86 waver in it’s line, and he clenched his teeth again. “YOU’RE JUST GONNA IGNORE THAT UNCOVERED DITCH!?” as the 86 began to pull forward, he felt anger climb his spine. “He’s gonna go in on the next, right, huh? Well I’m not gonna fucking let him! Even if I’m only halfway to the front, this road is still mine! I’m not giving you any space for what you have planned! I’ve got local pride, I WON’T LET YOU PASS!” Tohru began pushing the 86 closer and closer towards the ditch, expecting it to pull back, but was instead shocked into silence as he watched it pull forwards instead.

One of his tires wasn’t on the road anymore, it was past the ditch and on the other side.

“What… How…” he was stunned, he could hardly articulate his words. What the hell did that 86 do!?

~0~

“The whole thing depends on load shift techniques, Fumihiro.” Ryousuke commented. “Cornering at max speed places the majority of load on the two outside tires. Accelerating at that point causes increased load shift to the rear.”

“So, both outer-side loads are borne only by the rear?”

“Right. In other words, the driver intentionally creates a strong load shift and reduces as much load as possible from the inner-side front. If you can pull that off, then at full throttle, you can shortcut directly above the ditch.”

~0~

“He passed me! How in the fuck… am I dreaming?” his eyes shook as he watched the 86, unable to completely comprehend what he had seen. “What in the hell did you do? How did it happen? Do it again! Show me what you did!” at the next right, he watched the 86 speed up a little and move towards the ditch, it’s inner front tire gliding easily over the empty space to the other side.

Tohru was flabbergasted, and insulted.

“DAMN IT! If an 86 can do that, then so can my Roadster!” at that declaration, he sped up the barest amount and tried it himself, only for the entire car to shift and begin to pitch sideways. He felt everything slow to a crawl as the underside of his car ground against the ditch and he was sent flying. He bounced on his side, losing a mirror and breaking a headlight as he came to a slow stop, and the 86 squealed audibly to a halt. His opponent got out, an obviously panicked look on his face, and hurried over, just as he got out of his own car. The crowd started over as well, and Tohru let out a shrill groan of agitation.

“Hey, are you alright?” Takumi asked, visibly worried as he pulled his leather jacket closer to himself. “You’re not hurt, are you?” Tohru looked at him, registering the genuine worry and concern, and shook his head.

“I’m fine.” he answered, and Takumi’s face relaxed visibly as he let out a sigh of relief.

“Good, I don’t know if I could have handled it if you were hurt.”

“My car absorbed most of the blow for me, poor thing. This will cost a lot to fix.” he trailed off. “I lost due to a crash. Looks like Naho won our little bet.”

~0~

“A crash!?” Atsuro’s voice caught everyone’s attention that time.

“Oh gods, was is Tohru!?” Shinichi exclaimed, and the group locked eyes.

“Were there any injuries?” Atsuro asked, before he closed his eyes. “I see.” he hung up and started towards Project D. “Our Roadster was overtaken by the 86, and it crashed. It’s now unable to race. You win.” Ryousuke nodded slowly.

“Is your driver alright, at least?” Fumihiro asked, and Atsuro let out a sigh.

“He’s fine, but his car and his pride aren’t.” as he said that, everyone recoiled as Shinichi let out the loudest wail they had ever heard, Ryousuke taking a moment to cover his ears while retaining his posture, and Atsuro let out a wince. “Shit.”

“That reverberated with nearly the strength of a banshee wail.” Matsumoto groaned, covering his ears, his tail out and floofed to double it's size, and his eyes clenched shut. Tomiguchi was in a similar state, his hair vaguely poofed up as he tried to block it out, his claws unconsciously flexed out and nearly digging into his skull. Atsuro gave them wide eyed looks and Fumihiro sighed.

“Cat’s outta the bag.”

“I was never in a bag!”

“I WASN’T REFERRING TO YOU!” Atsuro blinked, then turned towards Ryousuke.

“You’re all creatures?” he asked, and Ryousuke nodded. “Well, that makes things easier on all of us, then, huh?”

“Not really.” Keisuke responded. “But whatever. When do you think Takumi’ll be back, aniki?”

“He’s likely helping his opponent get his car off the road. He’ll be back when he’s done. You're impatient."

"I want to speak with him before the race, you know as well as I do that he doesn't take his opponents crashing very well."

"I know." Atsuro shook his head and made is way back to his team, his tail slashing at the air behind him as he released his glamours. He'd have a bit of a wait on his hands, it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nnnngh I spent longer writing this than I usually do when it comes to chapters


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the second race is held but there's mostly just banter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back after like, a week

“You know,” Keisuke began aloud as he gazed at his opponent’s vehicle. “I had thought that car was an R34 GT-R at first glance. I do like those FR GT turbos. That’s a nice hobby right there.” his gaze turned towards Takumi and he realized he hadn’t even been listening. He was instead standing there with a frown on his face, quite obviously unhappy. Keisuke frowned, he didn’t like that expression on his mate’s face, so he instead schooled his features into a pout. “Takumi!” the spider jumped and turned to look at him, blinking in surprise at his expression before giving him a tired smile.

“Sorry, did you say something?” Keisuke actually did pout at that.

“Yeah, but I guess it wasn’t that important.” he simpered for a moment before moving closer. “You alright, then?”

“I’m fine, Keisuke.”

“You always say that, you great arachnid, but you never mean it, especially when your opponent crashes during a race.” Takumi look put out at being called out like that, but before he could respond, the sound of someone clearing their throat caught their attention, and both turned to see Keisuke’s opponent.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked, and Keisuke shook his head.

“Not really, no.” he responded, and Takumi hummed in agreement. Keisuke’s opponent eyed them for a moment, before turning his full attention on Keisuke.

“I’m Atsuro Kawai.”

“Keisuke Takahashi.” Atsuro remained silent for a moment, motionless, before he turned and walked away without comment. Takumi rose a brow slightly, before taking notice of Ryousuke and Fumihiro’s approach.

“I’ll leave you to planning.” Takumi said lightly, and Keisuke gave him a pat on the head.

“This isn’t the end of our conversation, love.” Keisuke warned, and Takumi waved him off as he made his way over towards his 86, and Matsumoto.

“I see Keisuke didn’t get to speak with you for as long as he’d wanted.” Matsumoto’s voice echoed easily as he leaned against the 86, and the kitsune appeared from around the other side.

“I’m fine, he doesn’t need to talk with me.”

“Even I know that’s bullshit.” Takumi began clicking in agitation as he locked his eyes on Matsumoto.

“Seriously! I really am fine!”

“You say that, but we all know that you hate winning like you did.” Takumi did not grace that with a response, and Matsumoto sighed, placing a hand on the spider’s head. “You did good, kid, even if your hunt didn’t go like you wanted.”

“I don’t need to hear that from you.” Takumi pouted, his blush saying otherwise. Matsumoto chuckled.

“I know, but I’m still gonna tell you. Gotta impart my kitsune wisdom upon you young critters.”

“You aren’t old enough to have kitsune wisdom!” Takumi snapped halfheartedly, batting at Matsumoto’s hand as the kitsune laughed.

“Yes I am!”

“A hundred and twenty something is not old enough to have kitsune wisdom to impart!”

_“Right!”_ Nejibana yelled from his pocket, clicking uproariously, and Matsumoto grinned at him.

“I have no clue what you mean by that, I think I’m plenty old enough.”

“You really aren’t!”

Ryousuke watched, amused, as Takumi and Matsumoto bickered, and nearly snickered at Keisuke’s pout.

“Looks like Matsumoto did a better job cheering up your mate than you did.” he commented, and actually did snicker at the offended look Keisuke shot him. “You get going, Keisuke. You’ll have enough time to talk to Takumi after your race.” Keisuke groaned in agitation and stepped into his vehicle, pulling up to the starting line. Ryousuke, on the other hand, walked over to Takumi as the countdown began. “Keisuke’s jealous.”

“What?” Takumi commented, confused.

“Matsumoto got the rest of his downtime to talk to you, he was pouting.” Matsumoto chuckled.

“You were talking with him, he was no longer free to chat.”

“Oh, he knows. He just doesn’t like it.” the roar of engines and the squealing of tires kicked up and quickly grew distant, the final race of the night had finally begun.

~0~

Keisuke’s eyes were locked on his opponent’s vehicle, feeling annoyance climb his spine. Atsuro was worse than he had assumed, it wasn’t taking anything out of him to keep up with him.

“While he manages to pull ahead on the straights, and his engine is powerful, it’s obvious that he can’t use as much as he clearly would like.” he scrunched his nose as he followed Atsuro into a corner. “Among all this, he’s also guarding the inside, near the gutters. As if I’d attempt to use any of Takumi’s tricks. He can keep all those flashy stunts to himself, I don’t need any of that to win. I’m doing this my way, I’m one of this team’s aces for a damn reason!” as they continued on, Atsuro continued puppy guarding the ditches, not letting a single bit of space become available.

Keisuke nearly ground his teeth together.

“You don’t have to guard the inside so much.” he growled, his hands clenching around the wheel, causing it to groan. “I’m not going to mimic Takumi’s little trick, I’ve already planned it that way. I can see your weakness, and I can use it!”

~0~

“This car is by no means light, but it had the heart to pull through.” Atsuro commented, his tail slashing at the air behind him as he glanced back at his opponent. “It just needs the power to pull it off!” he watched the FD swerve a little, very obviously keeping away from the inside, and he scoffed.

He wasn’t impressed.

“You go ahead and try to pass me, pretty boy. I have a greater ability to recover, and can pull ahead faster on the straights! I can break away from him in the first round! Stick to me as much as you want, boy, I’ll easily lose you on the straights!”

~0~

“His cornering, and driving, are very boring. He just relies on power, and slams on the gas as much as he can, whenever he can. That kind of driving is weak. Even an idiot can accelerate on a straight course. I wasn’t trained by my theory-loving aniki for nothing! I’ll show you real racing, using the real max speed theory learned directly from Ryousuke Takahashi!” as the end of the track came into view, Keisuke stepped on the gas and sped up exponentially, pulling up alongside his opponent as he slowly took the lead. He chanced a glance at his opponent and smirked at the shock on his face.

It was a nice thing to see from all this.

“Like I said, weak. Top speed acceleration on a straight relies on how well a driver can recover from a corner. It’s unsurprising that you lost this way.”

~0~

“While you were helping your opponent get his car moved, we found out that the rival team is full of creatures.” Ryousuke commented, and Takumi rose a brow. “We struck a deal with them that as long as we’re polite we can be in our full shifts, or a shift that is more comfortable.” Ryosuke had hardly finished speaking before Takumi’s pedipalps and limbs were out and shifting around.

_“Lovely, I’d been cramping up.”_ Ryousuke chuckled at his eagerness, stretching out his wings and watching passively as Nejibana jumped onto him and made her way up to his shoulder, clicking excitedly.

**“You forget that I can’t understand you, miss.”** Nejibana visibly huffed.

_“She wants to hang out with you until it’s time for us to leave.”_

**“Well, I certainly can’t stop her.”** that was as much permission as she was going to get, and she proceeded to make her way to the top of his head, where she settled in time for the two racer to return.

“They got done fast.” Matsumoto commented, and nearly snorted when Atsuro stepped from his car, his tail floofed to double its original size. It wasn’t as intimidating as the neko would like to think.

“He’s living up to his last name, isn’t he?” Tomiguchi commented peppily, and Matsumoto actually choked a laugh at that, everyone else groaning at the joke.

“That’s it, time to go home.” Fumihiro groused, and Ryousuke nodded, jostling Nejibana.

**“When Keisuke finishes speaking with his opponent, we can go.”**

~0~

“Oh, hello Kenji!” Iketani greeted, snickering when he caught sight of Itsuki’s expression.

“Now what the hell kinda face is that, Itsuki?”

“It’s not like you’re here to get gas or anything.” Itsuki groused. “You’re only here because you’re bored and lonely and want someone to talk to.”

“Don’t put it like that!” Kenji snapped. “I came here to tell you about the latest Project D news, but you obviously don’t care to know!”

“If it’s what I think it is, don’t bother. I already know they won.” Itsuki sniffed, while Iketani looked surprised.

“Really? They won? Where’d they go?”

“Tochigi! Takumi set a whole new course record while he was there! Both the uphill and downhill battles were won!”

“Man, Takumi’s really moving up the ranks, huh?” Itsuki nodded along with his words excitedly. “As opposed to…” he shot Itsuki a side glance and Itsuki returned it, causing Kenji to groan.

“That just means we’re no different from ever. You really shouldn’t say that.”

~0~

“What do you mean, you’re gonna quit racing!?” Naho demanded, and Tohru rose a brow.

“Wasn’t that our deal? I lost. You told me that if I lost, I had to quit, or we were done. I may adore racing but I’m not as stupid as to throw away our relationship over it.” he leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes, jumping slightly when he felt Naho’s hand connect with his forehead.

“Did you hit your head in that wreck yesterday!? I don’t like that you’re giving up this easily!” he gently pushed her hand away.

“I have no damn clue what you’re on about. You’re the one who said I had to quit if I lost. I’m holding myself to our bargain!”

“I-I…” she sat down, a torn look on her face. “I know… I’d only said it to be mean. I was frustrated. You shouldn’t give up your passion just because I-”

“Naho. It’s alright. It’s actually a relief I lost, really.”

“What?”

“Before now, I’d thought that because I was a local, I’d never lose to any out-of-towner. I was extremely confident in myself, cocky almost. And I lost outright so some guy from another pass, who’d only practiced for one night. Sure, it was a shock, but losing to him was okay.” he smiled at her. “So don’t make that face, Naho. I’m not saying that I’ll never drive a car again, racers don’t just toe the line. I’m gonna be having a different relation with cars than before, that’s all.” she nodded, and he relaxed again. “Last night really was the best, though. I’d never been that stoked to race before. Meeting those guys was probably one of the best things to have happened to me. In racing, just like any other profession, there are few who ever make it to the top. Those guys, they might just be one of the few who make it. I know that I’m not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will have longer gaps between upload. I don't wanna burn out on writing again.
> 
> This is shorter than the previous chapter, but everything will be. The previous chapter was nearly 4000 words long and this one is hitting 134 words shy of 2000.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there's a lot of banter before the next expedition kicks up.

_“I finished the delivery.”_

_“Ah! Good, you’re getting much faster at it.”_ there was a moment of silence.

_“Hey, dad?”_ Takumi began as he closed the door behind him, watching his father pause in his activities momentarily.

_“Hmm?”_

_“I’m gonna do the deliveries tomorrow and the day after, okay?”_ Bunta turned towards him, looking surprised.

_“How come? We have an alternation going, yeah?”_

_“Yeah, we do, but I’m pretty sure the team is going on another expedition this week, so I’m taking what I’d miss beforehand.”_ Bunta let out an understanding sound.

_“That’s pretty admirable of ya, kid. That’s a far cry from the year prior, when you’d go out complainin’ about it.”_ Takumi rolled his eyes as he walked past his father, his limbs crossing so as to not bump him on accident. _“You findin’ the deliveries to be that much fun?”_

_“No.”_ Takumi stopped._ “The deliveries are still ass. It’s just, if I don’t do the run on Akina, I get really anxious.”_ the tap squeaked and the sound of running water stopped. _“When the team goes out, it’s always to a new and unfamiliar course. My job half the time is to help come up with strategies for tackling these new courses, and it takes everything I’ve got. I can hardly think of anything else.”_ there was more silence before Takumi turned to look at his dad. _“This is the first time I’ve thought of it like this, but when I run Akina, I feel ridiculously relaxed, and I notice all sorts of things. I’ve not mastered driving the car yet, not by a long shot, but I’ve found that if I wanna try out something new, it has to be on Akina first, or it’s no good.”_ Bunta smiled a little from his position, unseen by Takumi as he turned away once more and took off his shoes. _“That’s why I’d like to do the morning deliveries as much as possible.”_ and with that, he stepped into the living room.

_“... It’s about time he learned the importance of a home course.”_ Bunta muttered to himself, shaking his head.

_“Don’t be so harsh with him when he isn’t within earshot, master.”_ Tama chided from the ceiling. _“Besides, I remember you being just as slow on the uptake as he was when you were his age.”_

_“Hush, Tama. No comments from the peanut gallery.”_

_“Well, I never.”_

~0~

“Well, I’ll be.” Iketani chuckled as he watched Takumi pull into the lot, Yuichi walking out to see what was happening.

“Takumi’s here?” Yuichi asked, surprised, as the spider got out, and Iketani nodded.

“Seems so. Hello, Takumi! It’s unusual seeing you out so early.”

“Well, I have today off. I had nothing to do and I didn’t really wanna stay home with dad so I… sorta ended up here.” Iketani snickered.

“And now we have two.” he stated, and Takumi gave him an apologetic look.

“A young kid like you having nothing to do on a day off?” Yuichi chuckled. “Now that’s a problem! Can’t you go hang out with that mate of yours?”

“He’s busy today.” Takumi responded, sounding a tad morose.

“What about that Natsuki girl?” Itsuki asked, catching everyone’s attention. “Aren't you friends with her?”

“She’s attending classes in Tokyo right now.” Takumi responded. “But I did get a letter from her saying that she’s settled in and is having fun.”

“Maybe you should go visit her sometime.” Iketani commented, and Takumi shook his head.

“Can’t. Way too busy for that. For now, exchanging letters is good enough.”

“Outsiders, you’re starting to sound just like Kenji.” Itsuki deadpanned.

“If you turn into a carbon copy of him, I’m going to riot.” Iketani added, and Takumi let out a sound of surprise.

“Lonely and coming here to spend all his free time!”

“Are you really okay with such an existence.”

“RUDE! I DON’T WANNA HEAR THAT BULLSHIT FROM THE LIKES OF YOU TWO!” Kenji’s voice roared from the side, catching everyone’s attention as Iketani and Itsuki both collapsed together in surprise.

“AH! KENJI!” Takumi heard Nejibana and Spider snicker.

“You’ll have to pardon me for my lonely, girlfriendless existence!” the two chuckled, vaguely frightened as they slowly scuttled away. “Assholes.” Kenji turned to look at Takumi, a pleasant look coming over his face. “So, Takumi, I’ve been hearing things on the grapevine! Project D sure is incredible, huh?”

“Hmm?” Takumi turned to look at Kenji once more.

“I saw the new expeditionary file, it gave me the shivers!”

“Right!” Itsuki called as he walked back over, purposely ignoring Kenji’s annoyed stare. “As of now, Takumi and Keisuke Takahashi are the two poster boys for the Gunma area!” Iketani came back over as well.

“You guys are just _too_ talented. No matter where you go, you’re just unstoppable, huh?”

“That’s not true.” Takumi retorted, looking overwhelmed. “You guys act like winning is easy. No matter what, it’s always a battle right to the end. We have no way of knowing what sort of opponent will turn up next. “I’m always under a lot of pressure, even if Keisuke says I’m not.”

“Do you know who your next opponent will be?” Kenji asked.

“Mmm. Ryousuke told us. We’ll be going up against the Toudou School.”

“What!?” Yuichi exclaimed, finally cutting into the conversation. “The Toudou School!?”

“You know about them?” Iketani asked, and Yuichi nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve heard the rumors. An ex-rally racer turned shop president who started up an advanced driving technique school that’s attracted young car enthusiasts.”

“An advanced driving technique school?” Itsuki asked, looking excited. “They actually have something like that?”

“Yep. And with drifting as popular as it is these days, it looks like these guys are a bunch of balls-to-the-wall racers whose only concern is mad speed! There are people who’ve graduated from the school, and have gone pro. There are even several semi-pro-level grads still prowling around the street scene.”

“And Takumi’s going to go up against guys like that?” Takumi didn’t respond for a moment, a frown marring his face.

“See?” he finally responded. “Pressure.”

~0~

Two sets of eyes watched as a yellow car pulled up to them, tires squealing slightly before the lights shut off and a figure stepped out, a large bushy tail hanging near limply behind them as their small ears twitched slightly.

“Mr. Toudou, what did you want to talk to me about?” they began immediately, walking towards the pair.

“Ah, Daiki. That expeditionary team, they’re going to be here tomorrow.”

“Ah, Project D?”

“Mhm. I called you here to talk about them, and our strategy.” he waved the other two in, flipping on a light switch as he walked towards the vehicle inside. “This is the demo car we’ll be using. You wanna give it a spin, Daiki?”

“... I’ll thank you for the opportunity, but I like using my own car.” Toudou gave him a firm look as he lit a cigarette. “Hey, don’t get me wrong, the demo cars of Toudou & Co. are quite astounding, but I find that to be so much the fact that the race would be over far too quickly. I wouldn’t feel as if I’d won by my own abilities.”

“You’re a goddamn idiot.” Toudou responded swiftly. “Quit talkin’ like that!” Daiki turned to look at him quickly. “Now that’s what I would have said if I hadn’t already known that was going to be your answer. You do what you’d like, Daiki. This is all a game anyway.” he exhaled upwards, blowing smoke towards the ceiling. “Just do your best!” he turned and began to walk away. “I might just come watch you race myself, if I get to feelin’ like it that is!”

“You’re just gonna turn him down like that, Daiki?” the third person asked, a forked tongue darting from their mouth to taste the air. “Damn man, what a waste! If he’d asked me, I’d have gladly taken his offer. This car is so damn cool, the kinda cool where you start giggling once you’re inside!” he rubbed the hood of the car reverently.

“I know that, you damn bush snake, it’s just… I thought that using your own car while racing was a rule or something. My EK is tricked out to where it’s unbeatable on the downhill.”

“You shouldn’t put too much stock into this, Daiki. I’ve heard of Project D, and compared to the intense training we’ve gone through at the Toudou School, their level is disappointingly low.”

“You keep telling me things I already know, Sakai, but... doesn’t this whole affair piss you off or something?” his tail swished and his ears flicked. “I may not know about the Internet and homepages and stuff, but this whole thing, showing off what they’re doing to such a large audience, it makes it clear to me that they’ve gotten far too uppity.” his friend’s expression shifted downwards.

“I guess.”

“This showoff manner of theirs is inexcusable. They have to be shown that there are a lot of fast racers out there.”

“You know what, you’re absssolutely right.” Sakai hissed agitatedly, forest green scales spreading across the bridge of his nose. “They’re far too cocky. Drive that point home, with your EK9.”

~0~

“Hey, Ryousuke?” Fumihiro asked as he opened the door to the Sphinx’s room, watching as his wings flexed a little in question and his feathers shifted in response.

**“Hmm?”** he asked, and Fumihiro entered, closing the door behind him.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, don’t you think that the D home page is a little too… confrontational?”

**“Not at all.”** Ryousuke responded. **“I think it’s fine just the way it is. When we arrive, we’re forced into the part of the hated villain, and we play as such.”**

“But if that’s the case-”

**“Right, our opponents will become emotional. Agitated. The more so, the better. If it’s not an urgent, frenzied race, then it has no meaning. Winning races and setting new records is one of D’s objectives, but this project has other purposes as well. It’s within those reasons that the true meaning behind the initial ‘D’ lies.”**

“Wait, wait, hold on, this is all news to me!” Fumihiro commented excitedly, his feathers shifting even louder than before.

**“It would be. It’s something I’ve been keeping to myself. No one knows about it.”**

“That’s really shifty, Ryousuke. Just what does the ‘D’ stand for?” Ryousuke smiled at him knowingly.

**“You’ll know soon enough, Fumihiro.”**

“Oh? And just when is ‘soon’, huh?” Ryousuke chuckled.

**“When this project is complete. That is when.”** Fumihiro blinked, processing, before an agitated look crossed his face.

“This is one of your vague riddles, isn’t it.” Ryousuke’s smile widened, and the siren chuckled. “Alright, I’ll play along. I always did like some of your riddles.” and with that, he left the room. It wasn’t even a minute later when knocking picked up on his balcony door and he got up, walking towards it and opening it to let his friend in, a tiny brown bat flying in behind him and landing spread eagle on the top of his computer.

“That was your most graceful landing yet, Tsuyoshi.” his friend commented, and the bat squeaked at him.

**“The bat’s new.”** Ryousuke commented.

“Of course, he’s just a baby after all, not even a month old yet. I just got him last week.” his friend sniffed the air a little. “Why do I smell bird?”

**“Fumihiro was here to talk about the Project D site. Said that it seemed a little too confrontational to him.”**

“Well, that’s because it is, but you have your reasons for everything.” he walked towards the computer and tapped near the top of the screen, beside the logo. “You could stand to put a generalized creature designator around here, though.”

**“Huh?”**

“That downhill ace of yours is a spider, right? A young one at that. It’s likely that he’ll start having growing pains here soon. Jorōgumo are always growing, of course. He’ll need access to his full shift in case he starts aching and putting a creature designator on your site will let teams with creatures know ahead of time, and as such give him, and the rest of the team, room to shift without risk.”

**“Huh… I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”** Ryousuke said as he began to edit the page, his friend helping him find the proper generalized designator to place there as he did so.

“I’m not. You’re a half blood, Ryousuke, of course you wouldn’t have thought of it.” Ryousuke’s brow twitched.

**“Rude.”**

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any less true.” he laughed when Ryousuke grabbed his ear and tugged, the both of them ignoring the small jolt of electricity that ran down their spines at that.

**“Right, whatever, that doesn’t mean you should say it, you great big bat.”** there was a squeak, and Ryousuke turned to look at the little bat on his computer monitor, snickering at the offended look in his eyes.

“No, Tsuyoshi, this happens all the time. We’re just engaging in playful banter.” his friend explained, and Tsuyoshi squeaked again. “You know the answer to that. Don’t ask again.”

**“What are you two talking about?”**

“Nothing you need to worry your feathers off about, lion boy.”

**“Rude.”**

“Of course. Now tell me about your upcoming expedition.”

**“Well…”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to power through Toudou school but gooood I just wanna sleep. I might have a problem.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there's more banter, and practice begins.

“They said they’d clear out all the local cars for us.” Fumihiro said as he came to a stop before the Takahashi brothers and Takumi. “It’s reserved just for us.”

“Reserved or not, there’ll be a route for general cars, right?” Keisuke asked, and Fumihiro shook his head.

“Nope, this road is still under construction, so it’s not open to traffic. There won’t be any general cars going through at all.”

“Under construction?” Takumi echoed, eyes wide as he clicked a little.

“So that’s why… even just watching the video, it seemed like an incredible course. There’s some serious height differential and winding roads. It’s newly paved, plenty wide, but there’s bound to be falling rocks, and the road surface can’t exactly be called pretty.” Takumi hummed in agreement, before they all split to go their separate ways Keisuke going to see what Tomiguchi was up to, and Takumi getting sucked into a conversation with Matsumoto as the kitsune worked.

“Keisuke!” Kenta called, and the oni turned to look at the drakon, eyes wide with surprise.

“Huh? Kenta? What’re you doing here?”

“Just what do you mean, ‘what’re you doing here’, I came to drive the second van, damn it.” Kenta chanced a glance at Takumi as the spider spoke with Matsumoto, slightly sinking into his leather jacket every so often while still remaining responsive, before he turned back to Keisuke. “When all of this is done, can I sit in the passenger’s seat for once? I wanna learn from your driving and the best way I can do that is to watch it up close and not from the side of the road.”

“I dunno, Kenta. I’m not sure it’ll be possible to do that.”

“Huh?”

“This run is supposed to be especially intense.”

“Is it?” Keisuke’s eyes locked on Kenta’s own.

“Don’t you feel a damn thing, lizard?” his hand moved and he motioned towards the opponents with his thumb. Kenta’s eyes landed on them and a shiver ran down his spine, prompting him to gulp.

“Yeah, okay, I see what you mean.”

“Alright!” Tomiguchi exclaimed from inside the FD, catching their attention once more. He was quick to stand and get out. “She’s good to go, Keisuke.”

“Alright!” Keisuke quickly entered and started her up, swinging her around near instantly as he changed gears and drove off.

“We’re ready to go too, Takumi.” Matsumoto stated, and Takumi nodded.

“Okay.” as he and Matsumoto sped off as well, Fumihiro stepped up beside Ryousuke.

“You know, the opponents are so confident it’s eerie. For them to just open up the course to us, and let us borrow it like this… you can taste the tension. Just what kind of race do you think they’ll run?”

“You know,” Ryousuke began. “Kyouichi Sudou is a graduate of the Toudou School. That fact alone should give us a general idea, yeah? Underhanded beasts like him abound.”

“Guy’s on his level abound?” Fumihiro looked startled. “Hey, Ryousuke, D’s only just gotten started, shouldn’t we have put this one off until a little later?”

“No.” Ryousuke said firmly. “If the project is such that is could be crushed here, then it could not have won later anyway. In this one night, we shall put ourselves to the test. We’ll unify our efforts, and crush the Toudou School!”

~0~

“Project D, eh? They seemed more respectable than I had anticipated.”

“To be honest, I was impressed. As a team, they looked quite efficient.”

“You aren’t alone there. Those three minivans were stuffed with tired and parts for the undersides.”

“The FD and the 86 each had their own mechanics, all working away busily. They’re a pretty capable bunch.

“Some really smart guy must be giving out the orders, huh?” someone commented, and there was a general murmur of agreement.

“Judging by appearances, they may be more skilled than we thought.” Sakai let out a hiss. “Up till yesterday, I hadn’t been looking forward to this at all, but…”

“A race by outside rules sure looks fun! Races between students are way too strict and no fun at all.” someone else said.

“Right, they get at you for the tiniest mistake, and you get chewed out by Mr. Toudou if you slip up even a little.”

“Well, compared to that, a race by outside rules is only half-serious, right? Sounds fun, I wanna try! Let me do it!”

“Oh, I wanna try too!”

“Come now, be reasonable.” Sakai chortled. “Defer to the graduates, your seniors, and let the active racers take the lead here. With that said, Daiki’s EK will take the downhill, and my lovely Integra Turbo will take the uphill.” one of the others tisked.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”

“In exchange for this, on the off chance that either of you lose, we’re not gonna cut you any slack, ‘cause you’ll be muddying the name of the Toudou School!”

“Yeah! Whoever loses has to pay a penalty of one million yen!” someone jeered, and Sakai let out a warning hiss as Daiki’s tail poofed slightly.

“A million yen!?” Daiki choked.

“That’s a pretty steep penalty.” Sakai commented.

“THAT ISN’T FUNNY!” Daiki finally snapped in response, much to the amusement of his classmates.

~0~

“Water pressure is stable.” Tomiguchi commented as he glanced around, taking notice that Project D was alone and allowing his ears out. “How’s the traction?”

“Wonderful, I can really open the throttle. Once you put in the oil, I’m gonna try another two or three runs with this setup.”

“Alright.”

“Ah, the twists in this road are incredible, this particular downhill is a dangerous one.” his gaze turned to Takumi as he says this, watching mutedly as he and Matsumoto interacted again.

“... I changed out your brake pads with some really durable ones, that’ll cause a corresponding drop in your absolute breaking, so be careful about that.”

“Thanks for the warning, Matsumoto. I’m gonna get going now.” there was a split second of hesitation as Nejibana scuttled across the dash with a round of clicks, hopped onto Takumi, and climbed out the window. “Ah, she wants you to take her.” Matsumoto nodded and picked up the little spider.

“I’d like to check your pads after you complete five laps, do come back here once you’re done.”

“Okay.” Kenta watched everything go down with bated breath, feeling anxiety claw at his spine wildly.

“It never felt like this when the Red Suns went on expeditions… I kinda wanna run away…”

~0~

“IKETANI! ITSUKI!” Kenji’s excited voice echoed around the lot, nearly causing Iketani himself to fall over in surprise. That human is becoming more and more sneaky with each passing day. “It’s coming up tonight, right!? The race between Project D and the Toudou School!”

“You really do have a lot of free time, huh?” Kenji nearly snarled at him.

“That’s not the issue here! Aren’t either of you looking forward to it!? Seeing what kind of race Takumi runs, I mean.”

“Of course, but it’s not like we can head out to Tochigi and watch for ourselves!”

“Why don’t you go, Kenji?” Itsuki taunted. “After all, you’re free, right?”

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” Kenji snarled that time, visibly tearing up as Itsuki recoiled in fright and nearly knocked over Iketani. “QUIT SAYING I’M FREE JUST BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m coming right out and saying anything about not having a girlfriend…”

“YOU ARE SAYING THAT, I KNOW YOU ARE!”

“No, no, not at all!” Yuichi watched, oddly amused, as they bantered back and forth.  
  
“Tonight, huh?” he muttered as he looked away, a frown crossing his face. “But this time… even Takumi might lose.”

~0~

“The sun’s finally going down.” Fumihiro yawned, some feathers falling from him to the ground. “I couldn’t sleep at all well, so this day has felt far too long. Just why is it so tense? Maybe it’s because we didn’t get to see the locals in their cars yesterday? It’s nerve-wracking, not being able to see your opponents’ racing.”

“We were completely unable to get any data on them, either.” Matsumoto commented, his tail left ear twitching.

“But the flip side of that is that they didn’t get to see our racing either. Despite that, I have a bad feeling about all this. I could be over-thinking things, though. I mean, sure, there’s a such thing as having a level of absolute confidence, but we haven’t been blown off like that since our days with the Red Suns.” Fumihiro turned to look at Takumi, noting that the spider was fully shifted and lounging on the top of the 86, his limbs swaying gently, looking relaxed even as the muscles in a few of them twitched lightly. That didn’t seem very pleasant. “Just how are you not bothered by any of this, Takumi?”

_“Well, I’ve raced a lot of different people before joining this team, and it’s always been like this.”_ Fumihiro looked slightly taken aback by that statement. _“I’ve found that I can concentrate more if I don’t know anything about my opponent. It’s about racing down the road before you, not thinking about needless things, right?”_ Takumi smiled a little, much more than they usually see. _“Right now I’m enjoying the anticipation so much that I can hardly take it.”_

“Takumi-” Fumihiro didn’t get to continue that statement.

_“I don’t know how to put this, but I can say that I’m having quite a lot of fun.”_ Fumihiro relaxed a little.

“You know, when I hear it like that, Takumi is absolutely right.”

“Yeah, he is, isn’t he?” Matsumoto smiled, his tail flicking as he approached Takumi and sat a hand on his head. “Wise words from such a young critter.”

_“You say that like you have the right.”_

“Oh, but I do!”

_“Kitsunes with only one tail have no rights.”_

“Takumi! That stings!”

_“Good.”_

“You know,” Fumihiro cut in, catching their attention. “It’s incredible that you can enjoy a situation like this, Takumi. You’re a pretty strange being, much more different than both Takahashi brothers.”

_“Is that good, or bad?”_

“Good, of course! It’s no wonder we’re all worked up about you having made it this far.” Takumi flushed red at that, finally processing that he was being complimented.

_“Ah.”_ he responded, shifting, and winced as one of his arms seized for a moment. _“Ow.”_

“Are you alright?” Matsumoto asked, and Takumi nodded.

_“Mmm, it’s just growing pains. They’ll be gone by tonight.”_

“Oh, are the pains why you’re fully shifted right now?”

_“Yeah, makes them more bearable. It would help if Nejibana were here, but she’s off napping in one of the vans. She set up a web in van two the other day, I think.”_

“You’re sure they’ll be gone by tonight?” Fumihiro looked concerned.

_“Of course. They’re a periodic thing. They’ll stop by sundown and kick back up once I’ve finished my race because the adrenaline will have left my system.”_ Takumi let out a few clicks of annoyance as he shifted back into a more comfortable position and returned to his lounging.

“That doesn’t sound healthy.” Matsumoto commented, and Takumi shrugged.

_“I guess it isn’t, but I wouldn’t know. I only have dad and he didn’t really have growing pains.”_ he paused. _“Well, I could call Akiyama and ask him if his family has any experience with growing pains, but quite honestly I don’t want to right now. I’m still mad at him.”_

“I don’t even want to know.” Fumihiro sighed, and Matsumoto laughed at his expense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four Toudou School chapters. At MOST. Fuuuuck meeee I just wanna get to the juicy bits I have planned nnnggghhhh


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the first race of the night against the Toudou School is held

“Daiki?” Sakai questioned, surprised, as the tanuki walked towards him. “What are you up to?”

“I wanna check the break area, so I’m gonna borrow a jack and some tools.” Sakai stood, nodding.

“Alright, I guess. This a final check for tonight’s race?”

“It’s nothing that dramatic, to be honest. I’m just not at all interested in this. Can’t get motivated at all.” his left ear twitched slightly and Sakai shifted his stance, his tongue darting from his mouth to taste the air.

“Yeah, I sorta picked up on that. You haven’t been acting too excited since last night. It’s because of the other guys’ cars, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!” Daiki’s tail twitched. “You understand where I’m coming from with that, right? Especially concerning that 86. Even if you just went running in circles around it, it would be like bullying the weak, right?” Sakai’s face tensed upwards a little. “What I saw yesterday has really gotten me all bummed out. No matter how good the driver is, I can’t find a single thing to get fired up about. Even that FD would’ve made for a better opponent.”

“This is just like you, this hang-up of yours. What’s the big deal?” Sakai shifted again. “Everyone knows that it doesn’t matter what car it is, when it comes to the downhill, there’s no way you’re gonna lose! Change your mood around and show them just how big of a gap in skill there is between you and your opponent.” Daiki’s face shifted, more agitated than before, and Sakai‘s face tensed a little more. “These guys were the ones who challenged us. There’s no reason to hold back, right? Even if your opponent is jussst some inferior 86.”

~0~

Daiki didn’t know what to think, looking at his opponent. He was young, younger than he’d initially expected, and was vaguely surprised that this was Project D’s downhill racer.

“I’m Takumi Fujiwara.” his opponent greeted.

“Daiki Ninomiya.” he responded in kind, and watched as the man from the night before approached.

“If you don’t mind, we’d like to run this as a cat and mouse. You’re free to choose whichever position you’d prefer for the first race.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Daiki looked less than impressed. “We’re local racers, and we’ve got the advantage.”

“This is how we race.” was the firm response. “It has been from the start.”

“That’s awfully confident of you. Fine, if you insist, I’ll be the cat.”

“Alright. Then we shall begin.”

“Oi, Daiki, are you really alright with chasing?” a classmate asked as the man walked back towards the van. “Wouldn’t have leading made all this end faster?”

“Probably.” Daiki responded. “But… there’s been a little snag.” his eyes drifted back towards Takumi and he nearly gulped at the sight before him. Bright blue filled his vision, swirling and arcing like fire, confined around his opponent, branched and curled in eight directions like jagged limbs. He heard his classmate stop breathing for a moment. “You get it, don’t you? This guy won’t be a walk in the park like we thought he’d be.”

With Takumi himself, he watched intently as Fumihiro handed a phone to him, citing Ryousuke’s desire to speak with him.

“Hello?”

_“Takumi, listen to me carefully. I have two basic instructions for you…”_ Takumi nodded along as Ryousuke instructed him, responding when he deemed necessary.

“Right, Ryousuke. I understand what you’d like me to do.” he finally said, and hung up, handing the phone back to Fumihiro.

“You’ve got this, Takumi.” the siren stated. “We believe in you.”

“Can I tell you something?” Takumi didn’t respond to the siren's statements and instead locked his eyes on his opponent.

“Huh?”

“Today’s opponent is really amazing. He’s really fast. I can tell.” a blinding red filled his vision, wild and untamed, like a forest fire left unchecked. He could hear Spider clicking eagerly in his head. Fumihiro seemed to understand what he was getting at and sat a hand on his head.

“You’ll do great.”

As they both sat, waiting to go, Daiki’s mind wandered ever so slightly as he watched the 86 closely.

“My opponent is more legit than I initially thought.” he muttered. “His aura is impressive. I’ll admit it to myself, I chose to chase because I’m curious. Why do you drive an 86? Just what can you do with a car like that? I have to know, and you’re gonna show me!” and with that muttered announcement, the 86 in front of him began to move and he followed, the both of them picking up speed quickly as the first corner came into view.

The race had begun.

~0~

“I had believed that he would take the starting position.” Ryousuke admitted passively. “But he instead chose to chase. It’s a wise and impressive choice on his part.”

“Hey, aniki…” Keisuke interrupted his musing.

“Hmm?”

“You told Takumi something on the phone before the race started, right? You were pretty secretive about it, just what did you tell him?”

“Nothing that could warrant being called ‘advice’. I gave him two basic instructions.”

“And?”

“The first was that, no matter what, he was not to look in his rearview mirror until the very end of the first race.”

“Why in the world would you tell him that?” Keisuke questioned, and Ryousuke didn’t respond.

~0~

“I remember someone saying that racing by outside rules would be nice and fun or something.” Daiki growled. “This isn’t some damn joke! At this guy’s level, he could participate in Toudou School races, and hold his own! Just who the hell is this guy!?” his opponent’s aura was merely a warning as to his ability, he had known that!

It still didn’t make any of this any less jarring.

“I’m shocked, and not vaguely either! There’s never been anyone who could run this course a single night and get to this level of mastery, not even at the Toudou School! What’s more, I don’t know what kind of tuning his car’s gotten, but it can go up against my B16 engine, and is even incredibly good at turning.” he let out an agitated scoff as he stepped on the gas just a little harder. “That thing is no 86! Iif an FR is done up this well, this is the kind of race it’s capable of!” he smirked, his tail twitching as he let out a small chuckle. “With this, they’ve no doubt had the advantage in their traveling battles, winning victory after victory, but this time their luck has run out!” he shifted gears and leaned forward slightly. “This is the home course of us, the Toudou School!”

~0~

“Y’know, up until yesterday, we made a lot of fun of our opponent’s 86…” Sakai began. “But right before the start, there was something about him. An odd feeling, I guess I should say. That’s probably why Daiki chose to chase, instead of lead.” his words caught the attention of a few of his classmates, prompting them to turn and look at him. “I’m positive I would have made the same choice. I’d like to see from behind just what kind of race the proclaimed ‘fastest in the Gunma area’ can run. If it’s some lousssy racing that betrays your expectations, you can tear out ahead and end the race.”

“Yeah, that you could.” someone agreed. “They say he’s the best of us currently racing, right? Just what’s his specialty?”

“Daiki, is very good at braking.” everyone let out a general sound of disbelief at that, almost chortling like it was some sort of joke. “Though, when you hear ‘braking’, it sounds sorta bland.”

“Nah. That ain’t bland at all. There’s no better weapon than that on a downhill! If you’re a graduate of the Toudou School, you understand why all too well.”

~0~

_“Takumi, listen to me carefully.”_ Ryousuke’s voice echoed in Takumi’s head as he drove on. _“I have two basic instructions for you. One, do not look in your rearview, not until the very end of the first race. Concentrate solely on your strategy for the course. If you run your own race, you will not be overtaken. And no matter what, do not look behind you!”_

_**‘We understand Ryousuke’s reasoning behind this,”**_ Spider began. _**“But we dislike it.”**_

_“I know, but we are not the hunter, we are the prey, and prey can’t always see the hunter.”_

**_‘Don’t use logic on us.’_** Spider sounded terribly put out, and Takumi nearly laughed aloud._ **‘We can tell you find this funny, and we are offended.’**_

_“My apologies, oh great arachnid, is there any way to make amends?” _Takumi jested.

** _‘Let us play this time.’_ **

_“No can do, oh instinct of mine.”_

** _‘Damn.’_ **

_“Maybe next time.”_

~0~

“I think I have the general idea of what that 86 is capable of.” Daiki’s ears twitched. “It’s better than I’d thought, but apparently nothing for me to get worked up about. Even with the pride of the Toudou School on the line, I want to finish this in the first race.” he narrowed his eyes. His gaze darting around the course while still keeping the 86 as the focus. “I’ve gotta tear around him somewhere. I’ll take my chance by putting as much pressure on him as I can. I want to see just how much he can take!” just as he says this, the 86 suddenly lurches back a little, the brake lights kicking on and forcing him to react immediately, their bumpers nearly touching as they both flew around the corner. He grit his teeth a little.

That had been a little close.

“It’s common knowledge now that in this class, the FF is faster than the FR.” he stated, half as a distraction. “So this guy must have the most powerful type R. I can’t just stay behind this 86 forever. I will definitely end this in the first race!”

~0~

“The thing about braking when going into a corner is that the more important thing isn’t when you start to brake, it’s when you finish.” everyone has their attention on the one talking, even Sakai was paying close attention. “If the point at which you finish decelerating and start to turn is too far or too soon, it’ll result in lost time. Guys with good driving skills will recover, and won’t screw it up. But every corner has only one ideal point for releasing the brake pedal.”

“Right.” Sakai picked up. “Mr. Toudou is always saying that braking is the most difficult driving skill.”

“Of course.”

“Daiki’s assessment of that point is always accurate. No matter how long the braking maneuver, the point at which he releases the pedal is always right on the money. It’s what you’d call an innate sense.”

~0~

_“Daiki,”_ he heard Toudou’s voice echo in his head. _“These days, ABS has become standard in the racing world. That’s how efficient the current ABS is. And yet, the Toudou School has done away with ABS. First, you gotta learn how to brake without relying on ABS. Unless you bludgeon yourself with the difficulty of braking till you can’t stand it, you’ll never understand how to really use ABS. It’s a rule of the Toudou School.”_ Daiki grit his teeth, finding an opening and pulling ahead only for the 86 to drift widely at the next corner and force him back behind.

It was vaguely agitating.

“This course doesn’t have a center line, but it’s still plenty wide. There are several other points from which I can overtake him… but now what?” his brows furrowed. “I use braking to wedge myself into position, but I can’t quite make it. Who would have thought that an FR’s corner entry could be this fast? The driver must have some serious willpower as well, because no matter how much pressure I put on him, he won’t budge! Even someone from the Toudou School would surely have reacted to this by now.”

~0~

_“I don’t have to look in the rearview to know that he’s staying right close behind me.”_ Takumi commented, clicking rapidly as he forced himself to remain focused on the road. _“I can feel the pressure on my back, a prickling so sharp that it hurts.”_

_**‘We dislike being hunted like this.’** _Spider growled. _**‘Ryousuke had best repay us for going along with this.’**_

_“Ryousuke will not be repaying us for anything, it was I who decided to go along with the plan, he didn’t force me into it and as such there will be no repayment!”_

** _‘You are killing us.’_ **

_“Whatever. You should be more appreciative of this, quite actually. Not looking in the rearview feels strangely good, lets me concentrate. Ryousuke gave me two instructions, all I have to do is follow them!”_

~0~

“Aniki. You never told me what the other instruction you gave Takumi was.” Keisuke commented as he watched Tomiguchi work. Kenta perked beside him and turned his attention towards Ryousuke as well, obviously curious.

“Ah. Well, as far in as we are, there’s no point in hiding it, is there? The other instruction, was controlled RPMs!”

“Huh?”

“Because of its engine, that 86 has up to eleven thousand RPMs, I have told him not to use the top end two thousand, and to shift when he reaches nine thousand.”

“You’re serious?” Keisuke breathed, nearly choking when Ryousuke nodded. “Why bother doing something like that!?”

“I don’t wish to show our opponent all the cards in our hand, Keisuke. Takumi isn’t yet capable of executing a more refined strategy, this was the only way I could think of that was both simple, and would produce results. Limiting our strength against such a powerful enemy is, of course, a risk, but if Takumi successfully evades him for the first race, we can draw up a simulation for him to win the competition. It’s an enormous bet. All-or-nothing.”

“So… he’s restricting the top-end two thousand RPMs… and still outracing that Toudou School downhiller!? How the hell… When the hell, even, did he acquire that level of technique?”

“You know how, Keisuke. Takumi’s the kind of racer that converts all of his experiences into self-improvement! To that end, an exceptional degree of concentration is required.

“I get it.” Keisuke said as he removed his hands from his pockets. “That’s why you told him not to look back… it’s so he wouldn’t be rocked by his opponent’s pressure tactics and lose concentration.”

“Right.”

~0~

“This isn’t funny…” Daiki growled as another attempt to overtake was thwarted by his opponent’s wide drift. “This is bullshit! I didn’t see this turn of events coming. Choosing to follow in the first race was a mistake! It’s like I’m actually havin’ difficulty with this!”

The end of the first race came quickly, and with it the position change as Daiki was switched to the position of mouse. They didn’t wait a moment as Daiki switched gears and immediately took off, Takumi keeping close behind him as they sped around the first corner.

“I had him show my plenty during the first race. I know both the 86’s racing capacity, and the driver's own skill! It doesn’t have enough speed to keep up with me. I’m gonna finish this in a flash!”

~0~

_“Shit, he’s fast, really fast! This is bad, I’ve got no wiggle room at all, I’m really at my limit! This is definitely a faster pace than the first round. Can I really even keep up with him at this rate!?”_

_ **‘Stop doubting yourself! We have been placed as hunter, as we should be! A hunter chases his prey until no longer able!’** _

_“I know, but are we really fast enough to bring this hunt into our favor!?”_

~0~

“Takumi will expend considerable powers of concentration when he is the one chasing.” Ryousuke stated. “His senses are such that he will be able to deal with speeds he has never experienced. He’ll be able to keep up. In the course of being dragged along by a local racer faster than himself, he will make his enemy’s speed completely and utterly his own. If things proceed according to my simulation, he will overtake the racer from Toudou School.” he turned his head towards the road, gaze unblinking.

“Aniki has a point.” Keisuke said. “About Takumi taking the opponent’s speed and making it his own. It’s his adaptability. Scary.”

“Right.” Ryousuke cut back in. “And if Takumi can keep pace in the first half, a certain advantageous element will present itself as he enters the second.” he turned and locked his eyes on Kenta. “Do you know what that is?”

“Wh- me?” at Ryousuke’s nod, he flushed red. “Uh… no. I don’t have a single clue.”

“What about you, Keisuke?” a smug look came over Keisuke’s face as he side eyed Kenta and put his hands on his hips.

“I get it, for the most part. It’s the difference in drive systems, right? With the FR, the rear tires do the job of accelerating the car, but in the case of the FF, in corner entries and also when it accelerates, only the front tires get worked. A downhill attack places load on front tired that are already taxed. The tires of the front-wheel drive EK-9 will start feeling the strain first.”

“Mmm. To add to this, the RPM limitation was a confusion tactic. A driver of that caliber would be able to accurately grasp the capabilities of the car driving ahead of him. In other words, he would determine he could overtake it and plan a short, decisive battle.”

“So you wanted to put added wear on his tires and brakes?” at Ryousuke’s nod, Keisuke let out a slightly awed sound. “That’s pretty amazing, Aniki. To think that those two pieces of advice had so much thought to them…”

“The important part is yet to come, Keisuke. The 86’s tires can’t hold out that long either. It’s unknown whether he can make use of the slight chance he has been given.”

~0~

“What the hell is going on!?” Daiki growled as he glanced at his rearview, not liking the sight of the 86 so close to his bumper. “I should have had a clear idea of his max speed from the first race, but he’s definitely racing above that max speed now! He shouldn’t be able to keep up! Just what is he doing!?” as they continued on, corner after corner, nothing he did widened the gap between them. “Just why the hell can’t I shake him off!? This is a much faster pace than the first race, but he’s keeping up!” As he kept on, he felt the grip on his front tires give a little as he slid.

That was not what he wanted.

“Damn! I thought I could settle this in the first damn round and pushed my car too hard along unreasonable angles! That was my biggest mistake, I’ve put too much strain on my tires!”

~0~

_“It’s not just my imagination.”_ Takumi observed. _“His corner entry has suddenly gotten sloppier. Is it his tires? If so, heat shear is to blame, and mine still have plenty of strength left in them! I can tear past this fast EK and end the race!”_

** _‘We will be victorious in this hunt!’_ **

~0~

“Aniki, if it were you, where would you start looking for the point to strike in this situation?”

“On any mountain pass, the more you run it, the more there will be points where the gear ratio simply will not match. For example, a point where, as you accelerate toward a corner, you waver between shifting up or not.”

“I get that much,” Kenta interjected. “But what if your tachometer’s in the red zone, and you don’t have enough room to shift gears and accelerate? In cases like that, don’t you just grin and bear it? It’s terrible, like your hands are tied and you’re unable to speed up or slow down.” Keisuke’s face suddenly took on a surprised look of realization.

“That’s it!” he exclaimed, startling Kenta into silence. “The 86’s engine has more RPMs then the EK9’s! That engine is hiding some sort of ace up its sleeve! Advising him to rein in the top-end two thousand RPMs and not showing them to the opponent, that was the real objective all along!”

~0~

Daiki was stunned silent as he watched the 86 creep up beside him, the both flying into a corner, the other vehicle passing him without so much as a bump or scrape and retaking the lead.

“Wh… he passed? He passed! Braking is my specialty, but… it let him pass me!”

His team confronted him at the end of the course, looking shocked and offended.

“Daiki…” Sakai started gently, and Daiki shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I lost.”

“Just what the hell is going on!?” a classmate snarled. “I don’t believe it! You, a local, lost!?” Daiki looked away, his gaze instead locked on his opponent.

“Well done, Takumi!” he heard someone say. “You did a really good job!” his opponent fidgeted a little, obviously embarrassed by the praise, and was left alone as one of the mechanics hurried over with a water bottle, handing it to him with a small smile and a pat on the shoulder.

“He was a good opponent.” Daiki finally answered, much to everyone’s surprise. “I had fun, despite it all.” he continued watching as the other racer on the team walked up to Takumi and set an arm across his shoulders, smiling easily, before leading him over to the rest of the team and sat him down, then headed to his own car and got in, heading for the starting line.

That’s right, Sakai still had yet to race. The night was not yet over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done. If there are any mistakes fuck 'em I wanna nap.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we finish the Toudou School in one, dumb long chapter because hello? I'm not gonna keep writing Toudou School chapters

Takumi watched mutedly as Keisuke and his opponent pulled off to the starting line, the annoying prickling sensation he’d grown to nearly loathe tickling at the back of his head as his limbs began to ache again.

“You alright, Takumi?” Matsumoto asked easily as he sank down beside him. “You seem put out.”

“It’s nothing.” Takumi responded, half listening to Spider running around his head to find the source of the prickling.

“Are your limbs beginning to hurt again?”

“Yes, but it’s bearable.” he glanced at the other team and nearly winced when his side twinged painfully.

“That doesn’t look like the expression of someone in bearable pain, Takumi.”

“Well, I can’t just full shift right here, now can I?” Takumi hissed, and Matsumoto raised his hands placatingly.

“Okay, okay, I get your point. By the Outsiders your hiss is almost as bad as Tomiguchi’s.”

“I resent that statement!” Tomiguchi retorted angrily from nearby, just as the slightly distant roar of engines told Takumi that the race had begun.

“You resent every statement I utter about you!” Matsumoto retorted as Tomiguchi sat on Takumi’s other side. “I say something completely true and you bristle like I insulted your dam!”

“That’s because most of your statements are flagrantly false!”

“They are not! What’s flagrantly false is your insistence that you have a tail!”

“I do have a tail! It’s just short!”

“Right, and I’m a tanuki.” Takumi sighed as he felt Tomiguchi tense angrily beside him.

“You two are causing a scene, let me suffer in peace.”

~0~

“I knew combining the Integra Type-R with a turbocharger was the right way to go.” Sakai hissed, sounding pleased. “In addition to the car’s mobility, it adds enough torque to accelerate uphill. Now follow me closely, little FD, the trap I set for you is already in motion.” he smiled near evilly. “I’ll show you Toudou School’s indecent ssside.” his hands tensed a little and his face moved upwards a little more. “I’ll avenge Daiki!” he glanced back in his rearview, taking in the proximity between him and the FD, then noticing the scales appearing across the bridge of his nose.

He pushed them back down, now wasn’t the time for him to lose himself and full shift on accident.

“My opponent is a good driver, having already gotten the hang of the line and timing. That’s going to cost him, though. The open maw of a pitfall awaitsss.”

~0~

“He’s a fast one.” Keisuke commented passively as they raced the first round. “So an FF is able to get this much traction going uphill. He’s so fast it almost makes me think he’s stupid!” each corner passes and Keisuke grows vaguely more agitated. “He’s really driving hard. I’d thought that the locals here were pretty good, but I’m beginning to understand his rhythm.” he grunted as the corners tightened and he followed the Integra through.

The braking after the corner was sudden and Keisuke felt panic latch onto his spine, his foot jerking off the accelerator, hovering over the brakes just as the Integra stops braking and speeds back up. Keisuke was unable to contain the snarl that ripped from his throat as his eye twitched and his grip on the wheel tightened, the poor thing groaning loudly in response. He grit his teeth, feeling his gums ache, and barely registered the skin on his hands beginning to take on the yellow hue of his true form.

“That son of a bitch.” he growled angrily. “He managed to trick me, he’s using my time lag between slowing and boosting to his advantage.” he could feel the sweat running down his face as he leaned forward, his blood singing wildly. “I won’t let you go!” he snarled as he followed into the corner thoughtlessly. “I’ll catch up!” his car shook and he suddenly snapped out of his rage as he drifted towards the rail, nearly yanking at the wheel. “Shit! I got caught up and charged in too much!” he turned the wheel harder as he drifted ever closer towards crashing. “Come on, come on, don’t go that far, come back to the road!” he felt the FD stop moving to the side and, as quickly as it began, it stopped and he stabilized, coming out of the corner faster than he had since the start of this race with a wild, victorious smile.

His hunt was underway.

~0~

“What!?” Sakai stuttered, hissing as he caught sight of the FD recover in his rearview. “That was a double-layered trap; breaking up his rhythm and forcing him to be impatient. How the hell did he recover from that!?” he watched the FD quickly gain ground, growing closer and closer. Scales began breaking out on his arms and face once more and this time he was too focused on the FD to care. “He’s catching up. Shit.” his face tensed upwards, a vaguely hostile grin splitting his face as he lightly bared his teeth and turned his focus back to the road. “I can’t lossse, for the sake of the Toudou School’s reputation! No matter what, I’ll be the one to reach the goal first!” the car suddenly jerked and he choked, forcing his car out of a wild swerve before it began, losing speed and allowing his opponent to pull up beside him as they went into the straight together.

It was infuriating, even if his Integra was pulling ahead of the FD.

“This is one hell of a thing to happen.” he hissed as they entered the corner much slower than he would have liked. “Normally, this corner alone isn’t a problem, but having another car present while trying to control my line is murdering my ssspeed. I never would have imagined that a new, low-speed corner would be created just because of him.” as they exited the corner the FD pulled ahead of him quickly, leaving him behind without slowing.

He’d lost.

~0~

“Bush rat!”

“_House cat!_”

“Augh!” Takumi’s eye twitched at the sound Tomiguchi released, an obviously sarcastic sound, as their back and forth had been more jesting in nature than anything else. “How dare you!”

“Could the both of you cut it out?!” he snapped as his sides began to ache again, his voice echoing around and catching everyone’s attention. Matsumoto and Tomiguchi both recoiled away from him in shock, just as Fumihiro came over.

“Is everything alright, Takumi?”

“I’m aching, I can’t move, Spider is whining about a building headache, and these two won’t shut up, what do you think?” it wasn’t said in a rude or snappish manner, but still conveyed his displeasure. Fumihiro sighed.

“You two, split.” the two mechanics complied quickly and Fumihiro reached down to loop an arm under Takumi’s own, lifting him easily and helping him over towards Ryousuke.

“You okay?” Ryousuke asked, looking concerned, and Takumi merely winced in response as his legs twinged. “Right, dumb question. Come on, let’s get you in the van. The ground obviously did nothing for your aches.” he held up a hand to stop him just as he opened his mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell Keisuke. Hopefully you’ll be well enough in a little to drive the 86 back home. If not, I’ll have to have Matsumoto take it with the vans and get you back to our place.” Takumi was still at this before he sighed and nodded, allowing himself to be guided into the van where he shifted and splayed out in peace. Fumihiro shut the door and turned to Ryousuke, looking vaguely stressed.

“This is almost too much.” he groaned, and Ryousuke chortled.

“At least this sort of thing can be avoided now that I’ve put a designator on the site.” he commented, and Fumihiro couldn’t help but agree.

“Yeah. At least.”

~0~

“Ah!” Iketani uttered lightly as the 86 pulled into the lot and Takumi stepped out. “Hello, Takumi. You have the day off today?”

“Yep.”

“Takumi!” Itsuki yelled from the store as he ran over, nearly plowing into the arachnid. “I did it! I finally did it!”

“Whoa there, Itsuki!” Takumi exclaimed, trying to keep Itsuki from knocking the both of them over. “What is it that you finally did?”

“I forgot that you’re forgetful! I told you before, I know I did! I said I was gonna add turbo to the Levin and I finally did it!” Takumi blinked passively.

“Oh.”

“It’s in the shop right now, you know, I’m so excited to get it back I can hardly stand it!”

“So,” Iketani cut in, leaning on a broom. “Itsuki’s 85 will get an upgrade, going from a janky slug to a plain old snail, huh?” Itsuki turned towards Iketani, a dark look on his face.

“And just what do you think you’re saying, huh? I’ll have you know that they're expecting a new output of around 180 horsepower, which means that it could even keep up with your S13 on the uphill!” Itsuki curled in on himself and let out an excited sound.

“It’ll have that much output?” Takumi questioned. “Wow, I guess turbo is pretty incredible.” Itsuki nodded wildly.

“Hey, Takumi,” Iketani began again, and Takumi turned to look at him. “I heard from Kenji that you beat those guys from the Toudou School.” Takumi looked a little embarrassed.

“Mmmm, yeah, somehow…”

“Your mate won that uphill timed race too, the Toudou School just couldn’t do a thing, huh? Your team is really something else.” Itsuki let out another excited squeal.

“Oh, I wonder if my 85 turbo will get me scouted for Project D, too!” Iketani burst out laughing at that.

“Not gonna happen!”

~0~

“Well,” Toudou spoke easily as he exhaled smoke upwards. “I think this incident will be a good lesson for the both of them. This kind of motivation is important, too.” he shifted his posture as his eyes locked on the form sitting in front of him. “As long as you keep racing, you’re gonna run into different kinds of walls. For both Sakai and Daiki, this was an encounter with one such wall. It’s only the guys who suffer through it who can climb that wall and move onward. When you hit a wall you can’t climb, that’s when you’ve reached your limits as a driver.” he shifted again, taking another drag of his cigarette and exhaling. “But, Tomoyuki, you should be able to climb any number of the walls you’re hitting right now.” Tomoyuki shifted agitatedly at that.

“Well, that’s embarrassing.” he turned his head to look at Toudou. “You could tell, huh?”

“If I couldn’t tell that much, I wouldn’t be fit to run the Toudou School, now would I?” Tomoyuki halfheartedly rolled his eyes.

“Well,” he started, reaching up to rub at his nose nervously. “My ‘wall’ is a pretty intense one. I’ve been made keenly aware that in racing, having funds means everything. After losing on the straightaway, I pushed myself too far, making stupid mistakes or getting into trouble. The team’s morale is getting worse, and with this economy, sponsors aren’t lining up. The future looks dark. This may very well be one wall I’m powerless against on my own. Quite honestly, I have no idea what I should do.”

“It would seem that you’ve forgotten something very important, Tomoyuki.” Toudou commented, much to Tomoyuki’s obvious confusion. “This is a problem I can guarantee lies with you. Do you get what I mean?”

“What-”

“Why don’t you give street racing a try?” Toudou cut him off.

“Are you joking? You’re the one who told me not to do anything stupid out on the street once going pro!”

“Sometimes you hafta do somethin’ stupid.” Toudou said firmly. “Really, just think of it like you’re pullin’ a fast one on those street-racin’ amateurs! You’ll probably find the answer you’re lookin’ for.”

~0~

_“Verdict?”_ Takumi inquired as Bunta stepped from the 86, watching as his dad lit a cigarette and stopped off towards the shop.

_“It’s got pretty good balance. Did a light run there and back, and compared to when the engine was first changed out, you can charge downhill and it’ll feel pretty good.”_ he sat a limb on Takumi’s head and lightly ruffled his hair, much to his son’s dismay. _“The suspension’s a little tricky, but it’s come a long way. I bet it’s made it easier to run races, too.”_

_“Maybe, maybe not, all I know is that the guys we face keep getting better and better.”_ Takumi swatted away his father’s arm, a pout set on his face. _“I’m feeling like I can’t keep up with it all!”_

_“You’re only one kid, Takumi, of course you can’t. Maybe you should try losin’ for a change. There’s quite a lot to learn from losin’”_

_“How could you say that? The entire team is counting on me to win my races, I can’t just go losing at this point!”_

_“I get that, but no matter how much you say it, no one can perform above their means. A car’s got a basic limit it can’t go faster than, too. If you thought about it like this, it’s probably be a load off your mind.”_ Bunta turned away from his kid a little. _“Still, with this car… I know I said we could share it, but it feels like you’ve completely taken it from me. It’s not even fun for me to work on it anymore.”_ Takumi was struck by the realization that his dad was almost whining, and nearly started snickering. _“Maybe it’s about time I invest in a new one.”_

_“W-What?”_ that had taken Takumi aback.

_“Yeah, that’s a plan. I’ll ask Masashi to keep his eye open, if a bargain comes up I’ll have him send it my way.”_

_“Do you have any ideas on what you want?”_

_“Now that, kid,”_ he took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke. _“Is a secret I’ll keep to myself for now.”_

~0~

Kyouichi was nearly pacing as the phone rang once, twice, three times, and he was about to break out into swears when he heard a small click from the other end.

**_“Kyouichi, you never call me, usually I have to call you. What’s on your mind?”_** Ryousuke’s voice was immediate and near infuriating.

“I heard that you got a rematch challenge from a Toudou School graduate, is this true?”

**_“Yeah, why?”_** Kyouichi sighed, starting to pace again.

“You’d be better off not accepting it.” he could imagine Ryousuke’s eyes narrowing at that. “I know you’re not the type of guy to listen when you’re told not to do something, but hear me out, okay? I know exactly who issued that challenge, he’s a pro racer. His name’s Tomoyuki Tachi, I remember him from my graduating class. He’s in a league all of his own, even when compared to the other Toudou School students and graduates. Your project can’t be one hundred percent assured of winning, Ryousuke. If there’s no way for this race to be avoided, you have to be the one to do it! As long as the course is the street, and as long as there’s even a sliver of a chance at winning, this is a race that you need to do yourself.”

**_“... It’s not like you to plead with me like this.”_** Ryousuke responded after a little hesitance. **_“Are you really so concerned?”_**

“I’d prefer it if you lost to a street racer, not a pro.” Kyouichi sniffed in response. “Don’t take my words out of context.”

**_“Right.”_** he bristled at Ryousuke’s teasing tone. **_“I’ll think about your words, Kyouichi. Thanks for the warning.”_** and with that, the line went dead. Kyouichi pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it for a moment before pocketing it with an irritated growl.

“Asshole.”

~0~

Fumihiro’s feathers shifted excitedly as he watched Takumi pull up in the 86, the hood a striking black in contrast to the original hood’s white.

“Wow.” he said breathily as Takumi and Matsumoto stepped from the vehicle. “It sure gives off a different impression now, doesn’t it? With just a single hood change, it’s like a completely different car...” Matsumoto’s left ear flicked.

“Based on Ryousuke’s advice, I’ve tried to make the 86 more lightweight. Going forward, we plan on trying out several such small modifications.”

**“Alright!”** Ryousuke’s voice echoed out, catching their attention. **“Everyone gather round, we’ll begin the meeting now!”** Takumi hurried over, taking his place beside Keisuke as Ryousuke held up a VHS tape. **“This is footage of the race course shot just today.”** his wings shifted as Kenta came and peered over Takumi and Keisuke’s shoulders. **“If you watch this, I think you’ll understand what I say. This particular stage is a mix, half uphill, half downhill.”**

“If that’s the case, who runs me? Me, or Takumi?” Keisuke asked.

**“That will be decided once we reach the course. Both of you will do a practice run, and my decision will be made based on the results.”** Keisuke’s face shifted a little towards a pout, and Takumi shifted a little. **“Now, this part is very important, so listen carefully. Today’s opponent is from the Toudou School, a graduate, and what’s more, he’s an established pro racer.”**

“A pro!?” Kenta exclaimed, the expression on his face one Takumi had seen many times on Itsuki’s own. “No way!”

“This is a terrible idea, Ryousuke.” Fumihiro spoke up. “If he’s really a pro, our guys will just run right into his traps without fail!”

“That’s right!” Kenta cut back in. “This is foul play!”

**“There will be no way of actually knowing that unless we accept his challenge.”** Ryousuke responded. **“I’ve thought it over extensively, and decided that we’ll do it. We do not run away from any opponent, no matter who or what they are. That is our motto!”** Keisuke’s expression turned resolute as he took a step towards his brother.

“Aniki, let me do it!” he exclaimed. “If the stage is a mix of uphill and downhill, my FD should have the advantage over the 86 with its level of power!” Takumi found himself visibly nodding along with everything Keisuke was saying, obviously agreeing that Keisuke should be the one to race instead to everyone who could see him. Ryousuke’s face shifted downwards and his tail flicked violently.

**“Keisuke, do _not_ make me say the same thing twice.”** Keisuke visibly recoiled at the sharp tone his brother had taken with him. **“I’ve already said that I will decide who races once we arrive at the course!”** Takumi gulped. He had a feeling that this wasn’t going to go Keisuke’s way.

~0~

The next night was a busy one, the mechanics working away on the cars and checking their condition.

**“This course is a tough one, one that incorporates all different types.” **Ryousuke began. **“Car condition, the techniques of the drivers, this course demands the best of both.”** Ryousuke turned his gaze between Takumi and Keisuke. **“As always, run five races at eighty percent. This is not the Toudou School’s course, but they should have already raced it before us. Go, and remain focused!”** the two nodded, hurrying over to their cars. Keisuke was the first out, peeling around the first corner, obviously agitated. Matsumoto whistled.

“He’s certainly taking this seriously.” he commented, and Takumi hummed his agreement.

“I can understand why.” he muttered, and Matsumoto pat his arm.

“I say we take our time with it.” he said, smiling reassuringly. “I have no clue whether or not we’ll be the ones racing, but we should at least get everything done right, yeah?”

“Mmm.”

“And,” Matsumoto turned his gaze to the road, his tail swaying. “As always, our real enemy is the course itself. Keep that in mind.”

“Right. Here I go.” Matsumoto stepped away as Takumi pressed on the gas, taking off down the road.

“Ryousuke.” Matsumoto heard Fumihiro start up, and the kitsune moved away from the road, trying not to look like he was eavesdropping as he was. “This isn’t like you, heading out alone to scout out the course. What’s more, even going as far as to take the FC with you…”

**“You seem to think that everything I do has some hidden meaning.”** Ryousuke responded. **“There’s quite literally no meaning behind my having brought my own car. I simply wanted to grab the wheel and know the course myself.”** Ryousuke looked down. **“I will admit, however, that it’s…”** he trailed off.

“What is it?”

**“It’s made me much more confused.”** he muttered, much to Fumihiro’s visible shock. **“Fumihiro, you give the orders in my stead. It’s the same routine as always, so there should be no problems.”**

“W-What are you going to do!?”

**“Sleep, of course.”**

“Wh- hey!” Ryousuke walked away from Fumihiro, his tail hanging limply as he approached one of the vans.

**“I’ve been absorbed with a clinical pathology report, and have quite literally just remembered that I haven’t slept in about three days now. My head is operating rather sluggishly. Please, do not wake me unless it’s an emergency.”** as Ryousuke got in and shut the door, Matsumoto walked over and let out a chirp.

“Well, this is an interesting development.” he commented, and Fumihiro groaned.

“I don’t know how I feel about this, Matsumoto. I don’t like it, I know that.”

“Classic anxious Fumihiro.” the fox teased. “So easily worried.”

“That isn’t it!” Fumihiro growled in agitation. “This time, something is really strange!” he gestured towards the van. “I’ve known him for a long time, he’s acting odd.”

“You don’t think he’s planning to use the 86 for this, do you?” Matsumoto commented worriedly. “Even Takumi agrees that it would be better for the FD to do it.”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Just what is it that sphinx is planning? Is he really going to have the 86 do the run?”

“Only he knows, Fumihiro.”

Morning came slower than they would have liked, and the two found themselves seated in a small diner for breakfast.

“I don’t know how Ryousuke does it.” Fumihiro stated, rubbing his aching back. “I just can’t get a good night’s sleep in a car.”

“That’s just one of the things that makes Ryousuke incredible, no? The ability to sleep soundly and not wake once inside a car?” Matsumoto snickered. “Our great leader.”

“That’s nothing to make fun of, Matsumoto!” Fumihiro retorted. “Guh. I swear, only just yesterday he let us know just how important he is.”

“He did?”

“An organization can’t perform smoothly if it’s ‘brain’ isn’t functioning. Right now, our spirits are low and we’re operating disjointedly. Even Takumi and Keisuke are at odds, and they’re as close as two mates can get at this stage in their courtship.” Matsumoto nodded in agreement. “Ryousuke knows the effect this has had on us. No matter how you look at it, this time around, it’s strange.”

“And what do you mean by that?”

“If I tell you, you have to keep this between us, Matsumoto.”

“I will, tell me what’s on your mind.”

“I… I think Ryousuke can’t come up with a simulation that will let us win.” Matsumoto’s eyes widened. “After exploring any and all possibilities, if he still can’t find a way we can win… we’re screwed.”

~0~

“Our opponents are here!” Kenta’s voice echoed, prompting everyone to suppress their creature features, better safe than sorry, and they watched the cars pull in, everyone getting out as an older man began barking orders at everyone else. Keisuke’s face twitched upwards.

“Looks like the big boss finally showed his face.” he commented beside Takumi. “I bet you can tell who today’s driver is, can’t you, love?” Takumi nodded, his gaze taking in the deep red, highly restrained aura of their opponent.

“He’s different from all the other racers we’ve seen so far.” Takumi responded faintly, and Keisuke hummed in agreement.

“Keisuke, Takumi, come here for a second.” Ryousuke called, and the two were quick to respond, walking over together. “So, after reviewing yesterday’s data, I’ve made my decision. It will be the 86 that goes.”

“What?” Takumi asked horsley, turning his gaze to an obviously outraged Keisuke. He could hear the team around him mutter nervously, and he gulped.

“Now hold on a minute, aniki! I was the one with the better time in the practice runs!”

“I know that.”

“Then why the 86!? Unless you explain, I won’t be able to accept it!”

“I’d like to know too.” Takumi said softly, and Ryousuke glanced at him.

“I’ll explain myself later, for now there’s something that must be done, and quickly. Takumi, get in the FC’s passenger seat. There’s some things I need you to know, and I’ll be telling you them as we ride.”

“O-Okay.” Takumi stuttered, following after him with one last apologetic glance at his mate, before leaving him behind as Ryousuke drove off.

“... Keisuke…” Fumihiro began slowly. “Don’t let it get to you too much. Ryousuke probably has a really, really good reason behind this decision-”

“Of course he does!” Keisuke snapped, storming past the siren agitatedly. “And knowing that he does just makes this all the more disgraceful!” no one stopped him as he got into his FD and sat there, motionless.

“Will he be alright?” Tomiguchi asked, and Matsumoto shrugged.

“Let him cool off, he’ll probably come back out at some point.”

~0~

“Whoa…” Daiki said faintly, his eyes wide as he took in Tomoyuki’s attire. “So cool… I hope to be able to wear something like that one day!”

“You shouldn’t be so childishly excited.” Tomoyuki responded, taking Daiki aback. “These are like battle fatigues. Once these come on, playtime is over.” he reached up and rubbed at his nose. “You fight in these, fight with the pride of a professional.”

“Tomo.” Toudou called, catching his gaze. “Even one of our demo cars will lose to an FD on a straightaway. Don’t let your guard down one bit.” Daiki noticed Sakai’s face twitch downwards, and echoed his sentiments. How did they know the opponent would choose the FD?

“I already have a counter-strategy in mind.” Tomoyuki responded. “That’s why I had the car tuned to my specs. Just leave it to me.” Daiki tuned out at that, looking over in time to see the white FC pull back into the lot, and for two people to get out, one of them being his opponent from the other night. They began to talk lowly, quiet enough to where he couldn’t hear them, and that vaguely miffed him.

“What are you doing?” Sakai hissed in his ear, making him jump. “Ssspying on the competition, are we?”

“That’s not it, damn gutter snake.” he muttered, his eye twitching when Sakai snickered. “They aren’t even speaking loud enough for me to spy, in any case.” they both watched as the man from before made his way over and stopped before Tomoyuki, looking pleasant but tense.

“Is everything over here in order?” he asked, and after receiving various nods, he sighed. “Alright, if you don’t mind. we’d like to start this with a simultaneous side-by-side dash, seeing as the road is plenty wide enough.”

“Whatever you prefer.” Tomoyuki responded passively, obviously uninterested, and Daiki’s ears picked up the sound of feathers ruffling agitatedly.

“Understood.” with a turn on heel, he started back towards his team, calling out that they were to get the cars ready. As Tomoyuki turned away, Daiki felt anxiety climb up his spine.

“They aren’t gonna use the FD.” he uttered, causing Sakai to pause.

“What? Daiki-”

“I know it, Sakai, just watch.” just as Tomoyuki touched the door handle, an engine roar that he knew well kicked up, and the 86 drove out instead of the FD. “I knew it.”

“I can’t say I saw this one coming.” Toudou commented.

“Why the hell would they go with the 86?” Sakai asked, obviously taken aback. Toudou merely smiled lopsidedly.

“These Gunma folk sure don’t disappoint. We were completely positive that they’d go for the FD, to use the 86 means they’ve successfully avoided all our preparations. To think, they’d use such an underpowered vehicle.” he watched Tomoyuki drive the EK9 to the start and nearly chortled. “This is quite the insult to us, and to Tomoyuki. Still, that makes it all the more interesting.” Daiki’s face twitched at that, but he remained silent. “Go do the countdown, Sakai.”

“Ah, yessir!” as he hurried off, Toudou turned his gaze towards Daiki.

“You got somethin’ on your mind?” the tanuki didn’t answer.

“GO!” Sakai’s voice echoed, and the two cars sped past him, the 86 pulling ahead into the corner and out of sight. One of the younger members of the other team started yelling excitedly, and another hushed him quickly enough.

“I assume that was according to plan?” Sakai asked as he walked back over.

“Indeed.” Toudou closed his eyes. “That 86 has some rather impressive acceleration, but I can only wonder if Tomoyuki stepped all the way on the gas or not.” he opened his eyes again. “From here to the first corner, it’s a battle of just a few seconds, a battle that could greatly affect the course of this entire race.” he fell silent and crossed his arms, no longer feeling the need to speak.

Now, it was just a waiting game.

~0~

“Are you serious?” Seiji’s voice was a little grating to Kyouichi at the current moment, he couldn’t quite pinpoint why, maybe it was the situation he found himself in. “Right, okay, you’re serious. Got it.” Seiji hung up and turned towards him. “You’re not gonna believe what happened, Kyouichi. Project D decided to use that 86.”

“Idiot.” Kyouichi growled.

“This course has got an uphill and a downhill, I thought for sure they’d use the FD.”

“I almost can’t believe Ryousuke ignored my warning. Almost.”

“You warned him?”

“Hush. I told him this race won’t be some damn walk in the park, but honestly, I’m not all that surprised that he ignored me.”

~0~

“Going on the offensive from the beginning certainly led to an advantageous start…” Ryousuke commented at Kenta. “But it’s not that simple.” everyone turned to him displaying various degrees of shock. “The area from this starting point to the first corner is one of all-out acceleration, and it divulged a good deal of information to our adversary. Accelerating from zero clearly reveals a car’s potential. If one were to remain behind and observe closely, the 86’s racing capabilities would be plain to see… not the absolute power, but everything from gear configuration to output characteristics relating to RPM acceleration. Having once shown our cards, the chances of a tactical victory over a pro racer are nil.”

“If tactics are no good, then why bother racing!?” Fumihiro asked, panicked. “What about technique?”

“Even Takumi would be unable to defeat a pro racer using such techniques. His car provides him with no advantage at all.” Matsumoto tensed, but nodded in agreement with those words. “As far as I can tell, there are no shortcomings with our opponent’s EK9. Power-wise, it’s either on par with, or above Takumi’s 86.”

“If that’s the case, then you’ve thought that this was a race we couldn’t possibly win from the start!” Fumihiro’s feathers were very audible ruffling, it was a wonder as to how his disguise hasn't fallen yet. A sly, fanged, borderline predatory smile split Ryousuke’s face, prompting Fumihiro to recoil in surprise.

“Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly, Fumihiro. That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Fumihiro gulped. “There is one thing in which Takumi is second to none, even when compared to a pro driver. It is this thing upon which I am betting, and is why I chose Takumi over Keisuke. There is no such thing as a race that Project D simply cannot win. We’re fighting with the pride of street specialists.”

~0~

_‘This road is narrow, and has poor visibility, but that will change from here.’_ Tomoyuki thought to himself as he focused on his opponent. _‘Coming up is the new second section, where construction to widen the road has finished. It looks nice, but the road surface is terrible. Joint lines in the asphalt are bumpy, and will toss the car around.’_ he shifted slightly into a more comfortable position. _‘It looks like it’s got a lot of power, but that 86 has pretty old suspension. I wonder how far it will even be able to go.’_ he watched the 86 bump and jolt but stay in line, even when cornering._ ‘Impressive how it’s able to stay in control even when tossed around by the road. Despite being old, it’s suspension is pretty solid. Not too bad. Too bad that it isn't enough to hide that it’s having a hell of a hard time.’_ he frowned as he trailed off, his mind going back to Toudou and his words.

He was confused.

“I don’t get it.” he said aloud. “Just what is the point of this race? The answer I’m looking for couldn’t possibly be in a place like this.”

~0~

Keisuke’s thoughts ran at a mile a minute as he sat in his FD, surrounded in an oddly serene silence with his eyes closed. He breathed in deeply, finally coming to a couple of conclusions as his blood finally calmed back down. A sudden knocking on his window startled him a little and he opened his eyes, vague agitation running down his spine at the sight of Kenta trying to get his attention.

“Of all the things I put up with…” he muttered. “Ugh, dammit, fine, I’ll get out.” he cracked open the car door and stepped out, pushing his hands into his pockets as he shut it with his leg and made his way over towards Ryousuke.

“... It seems they’ve reached the second section.” Matsumoto said as he approached.

“Right.” Ryousuke responded, before turning to look at him. “And just where have you been?”

“I decided to go pout in my FD.” he responded truthfully. “But Kenta came over and made me feel like an idiot, so I came out.”

“Hey!” Kenta retorted, and Keisuke waved him off. Ryousuke smiled at him softly.

“Are you still upset with me?”

“Maybe a little?” Keisuke responded, shrugging. “I mostly have an idea because your reasoning, though. I can’t move forward unless I can figure something out myself, you know this. So while I sat in my quiet FD, I managed to cool off, and worked out a few reasons as to your decision. Before long, I came to the most likely conclusion, at least for me.” Ryousuke tilted his head, a sign that Keisuke had his full attention. “When I heard we were going up against a pro racer, I got way too worked up over it. I started overthinking it, to where even I thought it was getting dangerous. I was genuinely scared that I’d wreck or something. If I’d raced in that state, the outcome would not have been good at all. Was that what you’d thought as well, aniki?”

“I’ll admit, that had been a consideration. The real factor behind my decision is somewhat different, though. As part of D’s activities, and in order to perfect my theories on street racing, I am attempting two completely different approaches in pursuit of the same goal. It’s for this reason that D has two drivers instead of one. One driver employs an orthodox style, applying motor sports techniques cultivated on the circuit toward street racing, while the other… well, the other runs like the streets taught them, one of the purest street specialists, employing a highly irregular style that’s the result of high-speed racing on only a single stage: the mountain pass. Do you understand what I’m saying, Keisuke? Our opponent is of the orthodox style. An exceptional one at that. This does not mean that you are below Takumi in any way. This whole thing is about the very nature of racing. Therein lies the only chance of beating a pro racer.”

“Outsiders…” Kenta swore.

“You’ve really thought about a lot while coming to a decision, huh?” Fumihiro asked, slightly shaken, before taking an agitated step forward. “Now if you’d just told us this in the beginning, we could have gotten everything done and taken care of without getting all confused!”

“That, I will apologize for. But the ones who are truly confused right now are our opponents.” 

~0~

Takumi felt Spider lurch forward as his opponent pulled up beside him at the corner, a choked sound ripping free of his throat in response.

_“He’s passing me HERE!?”_ he growled, flooring it to keep up as his pedipalps moved angrily. He could hear Spider clicking away angrily in his head. _“Dammit! He’s so damn fast! I can hardly keep up!”_

**_‘He dares pass us so early in the course!’_** Spider roared. **_‘He underestimates us!’_**

_“After this bridge, we come to the uphill.”_ Takumi began to plot. _“If the 86 doesn’t have the power for it, I won’t be able to keep up!”_

**_‘Come on 86!’ _**Spider bellowed.

_“We’re counting on your engine!”_ as they sped through the corners and into the tunnel, Takumi leaned forward and focused.

He had to pass the EK9 somewhere.

~0~

“He’s keeping right on my tail.” Tomoyuki commented. “This is fairly unusual. Honestly, I’d assumed they’d go for the FD, which would have begun working against the driver by now. So for them to use an 86… tch, it’s practically a crime! Their leader is a damned smart one, all right. I couldn’t see it on the downhill, but on the hillclimb it’s all too clear; that 86 has better gear configuration than this EK9. Corners that I’m taking in second gear, he’s taking in first.” he smiled a little, an oddly feral gleam entering his eyes as he gripped the wheel just a little harder. “More importantly, ever since I overtook that 86, his concentration has definitely been on the rise.” he could feel it, the eyes boring into the back of his head as he came up to the corner and spotted the cone, making a sharp u-turn around it and continuing on with the 86 still in hot pursuit.

This was a little more intense than he’d thought it’d be.

“He’s done a good job keeping up with me. I feel like I’m watching a younger version of myself.”

~0~

_“If it keeps going like this, he definitely won’t free up any space! What do I do in a situation like this!?”_ his headlights gleamed off the rails and it suddenly hit him. _“I should make it so that he can’t see me!”_

**_‘A darkened hunt!’_** Spider crowed, sounding horribly excited.

_“If I vanish from his field of vision like he did to me earlier…”_

**_‘All we can do is try!’_** Takumi focused once more, following his opponent back into the tunnel, his eyes widening when they came to the curve.

**_“NOW!”_** he and Spider yelled together, and with a swift motion he reached up and turned off the headlights, plunging himself into complete darkness.

~0~

“He’s gone!?” Tomoyuki questioned, alarmed, as he looked in all of his mirrors. “He’s vanished completely! Where the hell did he go!?” he focused in on his hearing, catching the sound of the 86’s engine in the mess of sounds he was picking up. “That isn’t my car! Is that where he is!?” he winced as bright headlights appeared beside him, revealing the 86 was keeping stride with the EK9 and neither gaining nor losing ground, before shoving back into the lead at the corner.

It was a truly panic inducing experience. He smiled wider than before.

“Did he use the disappearing line I just showed him? How interesting. This is the first time that I’ve ever been passed by a car I’ve already passed before, and on a mountain road no less! I think I’m starting to get what Toudou wanted to show me.” his eyes contracted as his face warped angrily. “But I’m not gonna pull any punches! We’re coming up to the fourth winding hairpin, I’ll show you! In box car racing, there’s this kind of bashing too!” as they flew into the hairpin, Tomoyuki guided the EK9 into bumping the 86, knocking it off balance enough to allow him the lead once more, and that piercing gaze on the back of his head suddenly turned flaming, and poisonous.

He nearly winced at the feeling.

“Sorry, kid, but this sort of thing happens every day in the pro racing world!”

~0~

“Ryousuke,” Fumihiro questioned suddenly, catching the sphinx’s gaze. “Tell me, when you let Takumi in your FC, just what kind of advice did you give him?”

“I didn’t give him any advice.” there was a collective sound of surprise. “I simply showed him the strategy for the course I had made based on my own run. He’s currently racing with an intuitive understanding of how his racing is different from mine.”

“So… what, Takumi took the strategy you’d made after you ran the course first, and that’s what he’s racing with?” there was a ring and Fumihiro fumbled with the phone, answering it with a quick hello, before choking. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE 86’S HEADLIGHTS ARE OFF!?”

“THEY’RE WHAT!?” Keisuke bellowed, definitely catching the attention of the other team, and Ryousuke looked very taken aback.

“That’s not something I’d planned for…”

~0~

“I won’t fall for that damn trick a second time!” Tomoyuki snarled, his eyes darting around once more. “While I can’t see him in my mirrors, I can tell that he’s definitely behind me!” he grit his teeth. “This is absolutely insane! Who the hell goes racing around a mountain road in the pitch dark with his headlights off!?”

Someone crazy, in his opinion.

~0~

**_“We can’t look at his tail lights.”_** Spider commented as he held control of their body, Takumi sitting close to the control barrier to take back over at a moment’s notice.

_‘Look only at the road!’_ Takumi commented. _‘Keep out eyes focused on the road lit up by the car in front of us!’_

** _“We must concentrate only on burning the image into our head! We must superimpose the line Ryousuke showed us!”_ **

~0~

“This is too much.” Tomoyuki commented tiredly, sweat running down his face. “To think I’d get shown up like this… my opponent is pretty incredible. Despite all this, there’s no point where you can pull out ahead of me. Victory is mine!” as he pulled around the corners, he felt himself relax and he breathed out deeply.

Then something darted across the road.

He choked, braking in a panicked manner and swerved, creating an opening that the 86 abused immediately, pulling beside him and turning on it’s headlights. The two evened out, pulling out into the straight, and the 86 slowly pulled out in the lead, taking the win as they came to a stop. Both waited for a little, likely catching their breaths, before Tomoyuki was the first to get out, taking off his gloves and looking up with a sigh. Takumi got out next and the two were silent for a little.

“Uh…” Takumi began, catching Tomoyuki’s gaze. “Could you humor me, and tell me why you yielded the line?”

“Huh?”

“Just before the last corner…”

“Ahhh.” he smiled awkwardly, coming up to rub at his nose. “There wasn’t really a reason, just a stretch of bad luck. Something darted across the road and I panicked.” Takumi’s eyes widened. “My swerve was to avoid it. And that’s just how it goes in mountain racing when luck isn’t on your side, plus there was an uphill slope towards the goal.”

“Was there?”

“Ah, I guess you wouldn’t have seen it.” he chuffed. “You won, take pride in that. If there is a lady luck out there, then you’ve most definitely moved her tonight.” and with that, he picked up his gloves and walked back towards the Toudou School, interacting with them lightly before getting dragged into a one armed hug by Toudou himself. Takumi turned to the 86, patting the hood, before a hand settled on his shoulder and he jumped lightly, turning to see Ryousuke, who nodded at him with a smile. He smiled and nodded back, and jumped once more when Keisuke set an arm around his shoulder, grinning wildly at him.

He won tonight. Maybe for once he would be a little proud about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, the weather forecast: overcast skies with a chance of bird
> 
> ALSO I LIED WHEN I SAID CHAPTER TWO WAS GONNA BE THE LONGEST OF THIS VOLUME I GUESS LMFAO


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the spider gains serious doubts about his ability, some humans from Tokyo piss off the wrong gossip circle, and someone new sets their sights on the wrong creature

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually one of TWO drafts I made for this chapter. The first draft has the scene I very obviously cut out because I started writing this at like one in the morning and didn't wanna put up with too many nyooms that early in the day. IF you prefer the other draft, tell me and I'll have it up replacing this one within the day.
> 
> Edit, 2/5/20: Every scene with Kyoko in it has been heavily edited. We found we didn't like how her arc ended, and we're changing it.

He shouldn’t be proud.

Takumi’s mind raced as he headed towards the gas station once again, images from that morning flashing. Blue cars that mimicked him and beat him at his own game bogged down his thoughts. His grip on the wheel tightened and he shook his head, he had to get his mind off of that or he’d never have any peace. Spider agreed with that sentiment and with a quick turn he pulled into the lot, stopping by the pumps and getting out.

“Ah, Takumi!” Iketani called, he and Kenji watching him approach. Iketani looked a little down, at least he wasn’t the only one in a mood tonight.

“You came by, I see!” Kenji added, and Takumi nodded before looking around.

“Hey, where’s Itsuki?”

“He left early to go get his 85 from the shop.” Iketani replied.

“He’s already planning to go to Akina tonight and give her the ol’ shakedown.” Kenji interjected.

“Unfortunately for Itsuki, simply installing a turbo is nowhere enough to put him in my league.” the wolf took back over, sounding far too sure of himself. Spider snickered.

“Enough of that, Takumi, that’s some pretty awesome stuff I’ve heard! I mean, you beat a pro racer! That’s incredible!” Iketani nodded in agreement.

“Yeah… I guess…”

“Don’t ‘I guess’ us, Takumi! We’re very proud of you!” Iketani smiled. “The racer from Akina, makin’ his hometown look good!”

“Right, right! Since joining up with Project D, you’ve been improving at incredible speeds!” Takumi turned his gaze away, his face falling as his mind wandered back to the blue car that beat him on Akina that morning. He didn’t register Iketani and Kenji’s expressions turn concerned in response to his own, the wolf and human not expecting him to look so glum. Before they could ask him about it, or even attempt to cheer him up, the honking of a horn made them all turn in time to see Itsuki pull in with his 85. “Well, there’s Itsuki!”

“DA-DA-DAAA!!” Itsuki yelled from the window at the car stopped. “The star of the show has finally arrived! Woohoo!” Takumi’s expression lightened some, much to the other’s visible relief. “Ah, Takumi, this is so thrilling! She’s so fast now! Come on, come on, get in! I wanna get to Akina now!” Takumi laughed at his enthusiasm and made his way over, giving the Levin a small pat as he got in.

“Where’s the little one?” Itsuki asked, and Takumi chuckled. The human had grown to really like Nejibana the past month.

“She’s with Keisuke.” he responded as he buckled, and Itsuki pouted.

“Damn.” he bemoaned as he began to pull out of the lot, Iketani’s S13 following behind after a moment’s pause.

“Wow.” Kenji commented after they pulled into Akina Pass, watching the 85 ahead of them speed up suddenly. “You’d better watch out, wolfie, this could turn out to be a pretty even match!” Iketani scoffed.

“Right, as if. This won’t even be a contest.”

Takumi winced as he felt the 85’s tires slide, Itsuki making an odd stuttery noise as he pulled the car out of it without much issue.

“Ah! Did you see that, Takumi!? That was a powerslide! Ah, so awesome!”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, you’re right, now calm down, please.” Takumi said quickly, visibly uncomfortable, before a flash caught his gaze and he turned in time to see headlights in the side mirror. “Someone else is coming up behind Iketani, pretty quickly too.”

“Whoa!” Itsuki exclaimed, his eyes focused on the rearview. Takumi was eternally grateful that this was a straightaway and not a corner. “They’re gonna tear straight past all of us! So fast, what model car is that?”

**_‘Don’t be that blue car again, Outsiders we’re begging.’_** Spider commented quickly, Takumi agreeing with the sentiment. As the vehicle passed, it’s colors evened out to a grey, and the arachnid exhaled shakily.

“Ah! It’s an S15 Silvia!” Itsuki supplied helpfully.

_‘Oh, thank the Elders…’_ Takumi thought as Itsuki shifted excitedly.

“Wow! Two hundred and fifty horsepower sure is fast! Oh… uh… not that I care about that, of course…”

Back with Iketani, his wolf was vaguely agitated at having been passed, especially by someone not involved in their current activity.

“Now that’s just… disappointing, huh?” Kenji commented, sounding put out. “Like a rabbit leaping past two tortoises playing race…” Iketani felt his hackles raise at that.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A TORTOISE!?” he yelled, using his currently free hand to smack Kenji upside the head.

“OW! MY COMMENT ISN’T ENOUGH TO GO HITTING ME OVER, YOU DAMN LAPDOG!” Iketani hit him again. “OW! STOP!”

They all grouped together atop Akina, Kenji quietly whining about bruising in the morning as Itsuki spoke quickly, peering inside the open hood at his 85’s engine.

“A normal 3A-U engine has eighty gross horsepower, so a hundred and fifty horses us almost twice the original output! Up until now, I’d never imagined you could make your rear tires slide by going full throttle on the uphill!” Itsuki curled up a little and let out an excited squeak. “I’m so, so happy! I can hardly take it!”

“Mmm, I can understand the sentiment.” Kenji said. “It’s really a thrill, tackling a course after your car’s just been tuned, isn’t it?” Itsuki nodded excitedly, and Iketani shifted, his eyes turning to lock on Takumi. He looked a little sadder for some reason. He should ask.

“What was your opinion, Takumi?”

“Huh?”

“On the 85. You were sitting in the passenger seat after all.”

“Ah… it was strange.” he responded, looking down for a moment to gather his thoughts. “It’s power output is different from my own car. A hundred and fifty sure feels powerful, but…”

“It could be due to the torque.” Iketani said as he trailed off. “The turbo’s acceleration has more punch than the NA, even though they both have the same horsepower.”

“Yeah… but… well, having so much horsepower gives it a stiff underbody. It… it feels like the damper isn’t working properly.” he missed his friends’ expressions going from attentive to surprised. “If you’re going to make a car fast, unless you get the pistons to stroke a bit more smoothly, it’ll feel like you can’t floor the accelerator when cornering. You might go into a drift, the smallest possible, but… why the hell are you guys looking at me like that?” he was suddenly visibly uncomfortable, placing a hand on the back of his head as his pedipalps shifted. “Did I say something strange?”

“... Did you hear all that just now?” Itsuki finally said, turning to look at Iketani and Kenji.

“I heard it alright!” Kenji said. “I’m stunned.”

“You didn’t say anything weird, Takumi. In fact, it could very well be just as you said.” Iketani smiled at him reassuringly. “Itsuki’s 85 is a low ride, with just a knockoff damper and spring setup.” he shifted a little and tilted his head. “You know, you’ve always been bad with machinery, so it was quite a surprise to hear such precise comments coming from your mouth.”

“You’re completely different from before, Takumi!” Itsuki exclaimed, elbowing him in the chest lightly. “What a shocker!”

“Well, people change with their environment.” Iketani interjected. “You’ve really come a long way, Takumi.”

“I… I don’t really think I have.” his expression fell again, prompting Iketani and Kenji to glance at each other. “If the staff at Project D heard me talk like that, they’d definitely laugh at me…”

“I don’t-” a loud screech cut them off and they turned to look down the road, just in time to see the grey Silvia from before flying around the corner.

“Oh. It’s them again.” Itsuki commented mutedly as the spider suppressed his features, glancing at Takumi to see his expression wasn’t as droopy now. The Silvia came to a stop before them and the driver got out, a sheepish expression on their face.

“Ah, hi, hey, sorry about earlier!” he announced. “If I see a car like yours, I get a little too excited.” the other door opened and another man got out, just as the driver stepped around his car and went over the rail with a grunt. “You guys are locals, right? We came out from Tokyo.” they looked around. “There… aren’t as many cars here as I expected.”

“Yeah.” his companion finally spoke up. “I thought it’d be livelier out here.” Takumi frowned, not liking the tone that was said in, and from the growl that picked up beside him, Iketani didn’t either.

“Hey!” the driver said excitedly, coming up to peer in at Itsuki’s engine. “You don’t see this every day! It’s an SOHC! This is an 85, right? And a turbo to boot!”

“Look how uncluttered the engine area is.” his friend commented, sounding humored. “In a way, it’s like it’s completely new!”

“Look, the intercooler’s front-mounted! That’s just dangerous. As in, _kaboom_ dangerous.” his friend laughed, and suddenly Takumi understood that they were making fun of Itsuki’s 85.

“I wouldn’t wanna ride in this thing, how scary-” his words were cut off when Takumi closed the hood with a loud thud, his expression blank but his eyes burning hot. Itsuki grabbed Takumi’s arm to keep him from doing anything else.

“Ah… haha…” the driver was visibly unnerved as he turned towards Iketani, who’s own expression was not a happy one. “Ah, have you guys ever raced a circuit?”

“No.” Kenji said tersely, obviously unhappy too.

“How could we? There aren’t any nearby.” Iketani added. The driver blinked, a little owlish.

“Well, if you all are racers, then you should probably be goin’ out to one every once and awhile.” the driver sounded oddly smug, Spider began to click in his head. “I’ve gone to a lot of race meets, and have had the privilege of running almost all the circuits in Kanto! My car’s tuned a lot stricter than for just mountain road racing.” Takumi glanced a Iketani and took in the amber eyes and slightly bared fangs, before he looked back. “And, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think this 85 would even place in a circuit time ranking.”

“WHAT!?” Itsuki snarled, and Takumi grabbed his arm, keeping him from lunging.

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are,” Iketani cut in angrily, his voice tinged by a growl. “But you listen here. The kinds of cars we drive is of no importance to you, and your opinions on them are of no importance to us. What we do has nothing to do with you. You and your companion are being rude. I have no clue how much confidence you have in your techniques, but if you’re simply gonna pass cars with less horsepower on an uphill straightaway, that doesn’t require any technique at all, now does it?”

“Just what are you trying to say? That the downhill is different or somethin’?”

“You can take that to mean anything you’d like, but while you do that, we’d like you to hurry up and leave.”

“Really now?” the driver said, sounding offended, and he turned towards his friend, who merely nodded and got back in the car. They pulled off and around, driving off down the road and parking, shutting the car off and going motionless.

“They’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding.” Kenji groaned.

“That isn’t conspicuous at all.” Iketani muttered sarcastically. “He’s just gonna wait there until we start racing, isn’t he? He’s probably hoping to ambush us like that. Idiot.”

“We aren’t gonna let him sit there and screw with us like that, are we?” Kenji was very obviously pissed off.

“Yeah! Talking all that shit, there’s no way we’ll lose to the likes of him!”

“Right!” Iketani said. “Let’s show him the true power of the Gunma area!” they all nodded, then turned to look at Takumi, who took a step back, his expression moving downwards again.

“Y-You want me to do it!?” at their nod, he gulped. “I-I can’t, I’m honestly not feeling up to something like this today!”

“Well, I guess we wouldn’t want to force the ace driver of Project D to do some boring little race…” Kenji responded, and Takumi felt a pang of hurt run through him at the obvious attempt at emotional manipulation. Spider tugged on his consciousness a little and he complied, switching places with his instincts.

“Yeah, I guess not.” Iketani added, and Spider began to click audibly.

“Uh… guys?” Itsuki commented, frowning at them as he glanced at Takumi. “That isn’t Takumi anymore.”

“Huh?”

**_“We never took either of you to be the vaguely manipulative type.”_ **Spider commented, causing Iketani and Kenji to jump.

“Haha…” Iketani looked to the side, obviously contemplating his next move. “I’ll do it then.”

“Ah! Such a determined look! This isn’t like you, Iketani!” Itsuki exclaimed, and Iketani waved him off, turning towards the arachnid and clapping his hands together. “But, just in case, please, if I can’t do it, you have to! Let me have your assurance!” Spider was silent as he waited for Takumi to think, before shifting.

**_“Fine. We will do it.”_** he finally answered, and Iketani smiled widely.

~0~

“There’s no way in hell I’m going to forgive them for this.” the driver growled to his friend, obviously pissed off. “And after I tried to engage them in friendly conversation…”

_‘I wouldn’t necessarily call making fun of that car and bossing them around friendly…’_ his friend thought.

“Ough, I’ve gotta teach them a lesson!” there was a screech of tires.

“Ah! They’ve started racing!” his friend commented, and the driver watched as the S13 passed them before starting the car.

“Good, we’ll go too!” he growled, stepping on the gas. “I don’t care if it’s an uphill or a downhill, I’ve honed my skills at race meets and on the circuit! There’s no way I’m gonna lose!”

~0~

“Hey, Iketani, you were right! He’s giving chase!” Kenji exclaimed, and Iketani let out an odd sort of snarl.

“Oh I’m really feelin’ the rush! It’s been a while since I last raced!” a ragged smile split his lips. “They’d better provide us with a good hunt!”

~0~

“Oh, these locals are better than we’d thought, huh?”

“I guess.” the driver chuckled. “He’s got pretty good corner entry, this S13. But beating him is going to be a snap.”

“Oh?”

“I’m confident in my driving techniques, my friend. I sure was fast, wasn’t I?” he laughed, a nasty, high pitched sound that honestly didn’t fit him. “I think I looked pretty cool, too!”

~0~

“This is much different from the last time you drove my car!” Itsuki exclaimed as he gripped the door for dear life, sweating profusely as he turned to lock his eyes on his friend’s face. “Ah, i-if I’m not a bother, would you mind answering something for me?”

**_“Ask away.”_** Spider responded. **_“We will answer to the best of our ability.”_**

“Do… do you think what that heavy set guy in the S15 said is true? Is my 85 turbo really that hard to drive?”

**_“Well…”_** he trailed obviously processing something that Takumi was saying as his eyes hazed over. **_“We do not know. It’s different from the car we always drive, which threw us at first. Isn’t the answer to that question merely a matter of getting used to the vehicle? You should drive the way that works best with the car.”_** Spider pulled the 85 into the corner and Itsuki tensed, gripping the door harder.

_‘Wow! This isn’t any sort of car handling that I know!’_ he thought.

**_“Iketani will not be successful in this hunt.”_** Spider began again, catching Itsuki’s attention fully. **_“We aren’t as in tune as our domestic half may be, but we’ve picked up many things, not to mention he has begun to ramble, so mind as we speak. Iketani has good corner entry, at the parts of the course he’s used to. Watching from behind, his opponent has more stability when exiting, not to mention good traction as well. But, there wouldn’t be that much of a difference from just racing techniques, the biggest difference is in their cars’ performance.”_**

“A-Are you really the same creature I used to know?” Itsuki choked, obviously taken aback. Spider nearly glanced at Itsuki using the mirror before looking back at the road. _‘No, he’s grinding the gears too much! This can’t be the same arachnid! Definitely not!’_

** _“He’s going to be passed.”_ **

“What!?” Itsuki turned back to the road. “You’re serious!?”

** _“At the straight line just before the corner.”_ **

~0~

“Ahahahaha! The fool! I said it wouldn’t take long at all to finish him off!” his friend was keeping an eye on the rearview. “No need for that! He can’t even keep up with me! I’ve got circuit-use full braking!” as he flew into the corner, the vehicle jerked, prompting his friend to tense harshly and let out a choked sound. “There’s no way in hell he could have-” they were both silent as a pair of headlights flew into the rearview and very quickly caught up to the S15.

“H-HE’S RIGHT BEHIND US!”

“He’s got some nerve, driving just an S13! If he thinks he can keep up with me, he’s sorely mistaken!” they sped up, turning corners as a faster yet safe speed, but the car behind them wouldn’t relent, staying in stride without fail. “WHY CAN’T I LOSE HIM!? My braking has been honed on the circuit! How can I be losing to some loser who only races mountain passes!?” his friend began to pale, his eyes locked on the side mirror.

“Uh… that car, it isn’t an s13-”

“I’m trying to concentrate! Don’t talk for a little bit!” his friend’s jaw snapped shut with an audible click.

“You’re gonna do the thing?”

“Of course! Now, let me concentrate!” the corner came closer and closer, and right as he stepped on the brake for his special move, the vehicle behind him sped past, revealing to be the 85, and not the S13, the wheels sliding into the gutter and allowing it to move faster than before, streaking it far ahead of them. It was around the next corner and gone as they sat there, dazed, the car running off the road and forcing them into a genuine panic as they came to a complete stop.

~0~

Iketani was in a very good mood as he worked with Itsuki, the both of them laughing brightly.

“Those guys sure got what they deserved yesterday!” he said happily. “It’s a damn good thing I got Takumi to agree to help!”

“That’s right!” Itsuki laughed again, just as Iketani turned to him.

“He’s just been getting better and better since joining D, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Itsuki stopped what he was doing. “He’s gotten… how can I put this? Like, at different points, he’ll just make the car move in ways you wouldn’t have ever thought possible. And his face won’t change at all while he does it, even when it’s not him controlling his body. He just grips the wheel, all cool and collected. It’s kinda scary.”

“He’s probably just confident that he’s in complete control.” Iketani assured.

“Seeing that, it makes you think that there’s no way you’ll ever see Takumi lose on the downhill, huh?” Iketani smiled.

“You said it!” he sat a hand on Itsuki’s shoulder, the jolt of electricity running up his spine both familiar and startling. As he pulled away, his eyes caught motion, and his throat closed at the sight of Itsuki’s incredibly startled expression.

“What the hell was that!?” Iketani gulped.

“Let’s talk about it later, Itsuki.”

“But-”

“Please.”

“... alright. But I’m holding you to that!”

“Of course.”

~0~

“... and then we talk for, like, three hours every night, so my phone bills are always so expensive! Oh, but it’s so worth it!~ We are _so_ in loooove!~” she glanced down at her friend, an exasperated look coming across her face. “Ugh, Kyoko! Are you even listening to me!?”

“Yes, I’m listening.” Kyoko responded. “I just can’t respond to you singing on and on about your mate, it’s nice that you’ve found him but honestly, even your birdsong has changed, you great canary. I don’t get it.”

“That’s because you’re always thinking about cars, Kyoko. You’ll never find a mate if you keep yourself focused on such things.”

“I don’t  _need_ a mate. Racing cars is a lot more fun than hooking up with the first being who just so happens to be available like the rest of my damn flock.”

“So… just what are you after in a mate, anyway?” her friend asked.

“I don’t know, never had the need for a mate.” she sighed, clearly disinterested in this topic.

“Never? That’s strange, I’ve never met a Koel who didn’t want a mate.”

“But we do exist!” Kyoko snapped. “Even if I did find a mate, it’ll be a chance encounter most likely…”

~0~

“I’m so sorry about this, Keisuke.” Fumihiro commented. “Scouting the course is supposed to be Kenta’s job.”

“That’s fine, I had nothing else to do and was starting to go stir crazy.”

“Takumi wasn’t available?”

“No, he’s at work right now.” Keisuke sounded a little sat about that. It wasn’t long before they pulled into the starting lot of the course, and as they pulled to a stop, a gleam caught Fumihiro’s eye and he wasn’t able to restrain his curiosity as he got out and headed over to it, realizing it was a phone and picking it up with an audible chitter.

“What is it, Fumihiro?” Keisuke called.

“It’s a silver phone!” he called back. “I’m gonna go turn it in to the shop here in case someone comes back for it!”

“Alright!” it only took him a few minutes before he was back in the car and he was fiddling with the recorder a little as Keisuke stared the run, recording everything he could. They finished up and parked back in front of the shop, Fumihiro beginning to sift through the recording just in time for a black FD to pull in. A fairly young girl got out, beginning to scan around the ground. “Oh, maybe she’s the one who lost that phone.” he commented, and Keisuke looked over at her.

“Maybe. I’ll go ask.” he unbuckled and got out, making his way over to her as she stopped. “‘Scuse me.” she turned to look at him and he smiled at her pleasantly. “Are you looking for a cell phone? A silver one?” she flushed a little and stuttered from the embarrassment.

“O-Oh! Yeah, that’s right!”

“My friend spotted it when we were coming in, and turned in to the guys at the shop over there.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” she sighed with relief. “I’m such a clutz, always losing the damn thing. I’d put it in the side pocket of my door and it likely fell out when I opened it. I’d come here to race last night so I didn’t notice I’d lost it till earlier today.” Keisuke rose both brows a little at her rambling.

“I’d recommend you go get it soon.” Keisuke said in response to her mindless chatter, honestly not caring and really wanting to get back to Fumihiro at this point.

“A-AH! Right! Thank you!” he turned away and waved her off, as she hurried to the shop. 

_ ‘ _ _ Outsiders, why do I get so anxious all the time?!’  _ she thought to herself, patting her cheeks as if to wake herself up from a daze.

Now was not the time to have a meltdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BIRD ALERT! BIRD ALERT!


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author makes it obvious that she's biased as a race is held.

“Hey, Nobuhiko, did ya hear?”

_“Mmm. They’ve defeated their previous opponents and are on their way here.”_ there was a round of clicking as Nobuhiko’s deep red pedipalps shifted. _“Project D.”_

“Scary. What are you going to do about it?”

_ “What do you mean ‘scary’? This isn’t anything to be frightened about.” _

“Y-You sure?” a pair of tan, floppy ears shifted a little as the one speaking brought up a hand to lightly tug on one.

_“I’m positive. Though, I will admit, I’m incredibly curious. I wanna see just how good this famous team is. I’m actually pretty pleased that they’re coming here, to our home course.” _he turned to look over towards the only female in the area, her talons gripping a tree limb as she curled her winged arms around her knees and stared off into the woods. _“Right, Kyoko?”_ the Koel turned to peer at him, her feathers shifting as she chirped.

“Right!” she grinned eagerly. “I’ll just get myself focused and race to the best of my ability! Leave it to me!” Nobuhiko hummed in response.

_ “Would you like me to tell you about their team’s hillclimber, then? I got all the information I could need off their site.” _

“No.” she turned her attention back to her feathers and frowned, bringing up a talon to comb through them. “I’ll be fine without it. I can concentrate better if I don’t hear too many details.” she gave up her effort and spread her arms, lifting from the tree and landing before her FD, her feathers and wings regressing back into skin and hands as she stared at the vehicle for a moment, before getting in.

_“She’s acting a little odd.”_ Nobuhiko commented, sounding vaguely worried as she drove away.

“Her birdsong’s a little different, innit?” another team member asked, catching their attention. “I mean, usually it’s the usual bland affair, having gotten used to it, but tonight it was… I dunno, thoughtful, in a way?” they all frowned.

_ “Well, we’ll just have to wait and see what’s up.” _

It was later that night when Nobuhiko finally got the call that Project D was making its way up the pass, his blood thrummed excitedly at the thought of them finally arriving causing his pedipalps to shift restlessly.

“They’re here, right?” Kyoko asked, shutting the hood of her FD. “That’s the only reason you’d get a call this late that I can think of.”

_“Smart bird, aren’t ya?”_ he commented, before turning back to the covered pass. The team came to stand near him, all of them watching as the engine sounds grew louder, before the first car turned the corner.

It was a bright yellow FD.

Kyoko’s eyes widened, she recognized that FD, and she especially recognized the man who got out of the vehicle. He’d helped her find her phone hardly even a day ago. He was her opponent?

_“That yellow FD is Project D’s hillclimber ace, Keisuke Takahashi.”_ Nobuhiko said from beside her. She watched as Keisuke walked towards the other driver and smiled softly at him, slight curiosity climbing her spine at the reason. Keisuke had this intimidating aura about him, and wondered why he looked at his teammate as he did. The other driver fiddled with the pendant around his neck and Keisuke reached up to grab his hand, pulling it away from the piece of jewelry but not letting it go as a little spider traveled between their arms and came to a stop on the brunet’s shoulder. _“He’s the one you’ll be racing against tomorrow.”_

“Keisuke Takahashi, huh…”

_“What’s with the response?”_ Nobuhiko asked, sounding positively confused. _“You scared of him or something? Couldn’t be, he’s got an FD, same as you. With the way you race, you can hold your head high anywhere you go.”_ he clicked a little, the sound catching the attention of brunet, who looked over and blinked in surprise before a set of bright red pedipalps emerged on his own face. The glance over didn’t last long as his gaze turned back to Keisuke quickly and they re-engaged in conversation._ “You should just be confident, and show ‘em how it’s done.”_

“I’m not _ scared_, you dumb arachnid, and don’t ever imply that I am.” Kyoko rolled her eyes at him. “I’m just curious.” Nobuhiko rose a brow at her but didn’t grace that with a comment, instead wandering off towards Project D.

_“... I had seen the marker on the site, so you don’t have to hide from us. If you’re more comfortable with a full shift, that’s fine with us.”_ his voice reached her as he stopped and smiled charmingly at one of Project D’s members.

“Oh!” the man he was talking to exclaimed, looking pleasantly surprised. A pair of brown wings appeared on his back and similarly colored feathers sprouted on his hands and face, much to her surprise. “This is a lovely surprise, I guess Ryousuke was right about adding that to the site! He’ll be pleased to know about this. If that’s everything, we’ll begin our practice runs, yes?” at Nobuhiko’s nod, he quickly hurried over to Project D, talking quickly. After a few moments, there was a near simultaneous appearance of creature features on everyone. The one that caught Kyoko’s eye, though, was Keisuke. He obviously wasn’t in full shift, but his deep green eyes, bright yellow skin, inverted teeth, and red horn told her that he was an oni, and an odd one at that. She’d never seen, or heard of, a yellow oni before. A flash of red near him caught her eye and she took on the near full shift of the spider on his team, a bright red and black creature with a bright yellow spiral stamped amidst his patterning.

He had a compatibility mark, a very bright one too, and she bet everything that it was one he got from Keisuke. It was a bold shape, obviously well cared for, and the sign of a strong bond. At least now she knew why he looked at his teammate like he did.

~0~

_“Have you noticed that harpy over there staring at you this whole time we’ve been here?”_ Takumi asked Keisuke, prompting him to glance at her and wince. A look came over Takumi’s face and Keisuke felt the need to quickly elaborate upon his reaction.

**“Fumihiro and I, well, mostly I, met her while we were scouting the course. She’d lost her phone and I told her that we’d found it and turned it in to the guys at the store nearby, that’s all that happened.”** Takumi eyed her a little, then relented.

_ “I believe you, but her staring makes me on edge. Her species looks familiar…” _

**“Don’t think on it, Takumi.”** Keisuke said. **“She’s nothing to worry about.”**

_“Right, yeah, you’re correct.”_ Takumi looked back at Keisuke, smiling lopsidedly. _“So what’s with the near fullshift?”_

**“The same could be asked of you, love.”** Keisuke teased. **“Like you, I’m trying to get more comfortable in a full shift in public.”**

_“Ah.”_ he clicked in understanding.

**“Alright!”** Ryousuke called to them. **“You two, let’s talk for a second.”** they both walked over, turning their full attention to the half shifted sphinx. ** “To the point, both of you do five runs at eighty percent!”** they both nod. **“AND! A word of warning: your usual tricks will not be applicable here. Especially for you, Keisuke. It was to provide you with strict training that I chose this course. So give it your all.”**

**“Huh?”** Keisuke questioned, tilting his head. **“The hell’s that supposed to mean?”**

“Preparations are all done!” Tomiguchi exclaimed before Ryousuke could answer.

“All done over here too!” Matsumoto called, his right ear flicking wildly as he reached up to stop it.

**“I’ll explain later, now go.”** they nodded and turned, quickly hopping into their own cars and beginning their runs.

~0~

**“Ugh, it was terrible, Fumihiro, I’m tellin’ ya!”**

“Hmm?” Keisuke was talking rather animatedly.

**“There are all these cracks and ripples in the asphalt! And they all set off sparks, like in the old F1 races. I raised the car more than usual, and tried a couple of different configurations, but nothing does the trick.”**

“That is how it looks. Even Takumi’s 86 seems to be having it rough, especially on its suspension.” both turned and watched as both mechanics worked away on the 86, Takumi splayed out but watching like a hawk from nearby. “More to the point, did you notice, Keisuke?”

**“Notice what?”**

“There was a girl in a black FD when we came to scout the course before, right? She was here with that group we’ll be racing.” Keisuke winced.

**“Ah, yeah, Takumi noticed her first and started acting a little possessive. I think his worry is unfounded but it’s nice to know he cares enough to be paranoid, I think.”**

“Well, I’d be a little unnerved too. She watched you for a decent amount of time before going off to do her own thing. She couldn’t possibly be their hillclimber, right?”

**“You shouldn’t think like that Fumihiro. That might very well be the case. She is driving an FD after all. I honestly couldn’t care less who the hillclimber is, I think my real opponent this time, is the course itself.”**

~0~

“Ohhh! Kyoko that’s awesome! Like fate has set you up!” Kyoko stared at her friend unblinkingly.

“You seem to be misunderstanding my interest in him being my opponent, canary.” she said blankly, causing her friend to huff. “I don’t care what you think, he’s taken, let it be. I’m just interested in how his FD runs. It’s a flashy thing.”

“It’s always about cars with you!” her friend sounded exasperated. “I seriously don’t understand it. I’d’ve thought you’d be excited to find a creature with an FD, you said it yourself that you’d only date someone with an FD!”

“Yeah, if I wanted to and they were available.” Kyoko nearly cawed. “Which I don’t, and he’s not! Why can’t you leave it alone? Stop trying to hook me up! I’ll find a mate in my own time, but not right now.” the canary across from her stared unblinkingly for a moment, before sighing.

“Alright, Kyoko, I’ll let it go for now, but this won’t last!”

“Knowing you, it won’t even last a week.”

~0~

_“I stuck around here and watched them run til dawn,”_ Nobuhiko said, crossing his limbs. _“They’re top class, especially that downhill 86 of theirs. He’s very likely already beyond street-racer level.”_ his words sparked surprise in his team. _“We don’t have a downhiller in his league on this team. I’ll challenge him, of course, but please don’t get your hopes up. All of our hopes have to be pinned on the hillclimb instead.”_ he adjusted his glasses and turned towards Kyoko. _“We have Kyoko on our side. With her, there’s no way we could lose.”_ she nodded at his words and he turned his full attention to her. _“Depending on your approach, it will most definitely be possible for you to pull out in front of him. That’s why I’ve thought up a strategy for this. I’m counting on you to pull it off, Kyoko.”_

“Just leave it to me.” she said determinedly. “I’m raring to go.”

~0~

Keisuke’s eyes narrowed as he came across the opponent’s FD parked on the side of the road, the hood propped open and the driver staring inside blankly. He struggled with himself a little, before pulling over with a swear, startling Nejibana awake from her spot in the passenger seat.

“Come on, Bana.” he groaned, prompting her to snap up and scuttle up to his shoulder faster than she ever had before as he opened the car door and got out. “This is fucking stupid of me but I’m not doing anything wrong.” he began over towards the harpy. “Hey! What’s up, the car not working?” she jumped as though startled.

“O-Oh, uh, I was racing, and it suddenly lost its power.” he tilted his head and came to a stop beside her, Nejibana eyeing her closely as he peered in at the engine.

“Without warning?”

“W-Well, not exactly… it felt odd since the day before yesterday. I’d thought that I was just imagining it.” Keisuke side eyed her with a raised brow. “But the power clearly just cut out now, I got a little spooked and pulled over.” Keisuke looked back at the engine.

“You’re supposed to do the hillclimb, right?” he could feel her gaze on him.

“Yeah, but at this rate-”

“What a damn disappointment.” he growled, and her gaze turned shocked. “I’ve been shafted by what’s happened to your car too, y’know. I’d been looking forward to tonight’s race. What’s getting me is, if your car felt even a little off, why didn’t you check it while it was still daylight, just in case? This kinda feels like you believe you can win without giving this thing the proper maintenance, and if you really think that I’m shocked and appalled.” he turned and began walking away. “I don’t like racing people with half assed attitudes like that, it’s a waste on both the course and the car!” as he reentered his FD and drove off, he could hear Nejibana away clicking wildly, bouncing on the dash a little before hopping back into the seat and curling up for more sleep. When he arrived back at base, he was paused for a moment, staring at everything, before he made up his mind and began to approach Tomiguchi.

“Oh Outsiders, this is so _pathetic_.” Kyoko hiccuped as she leaned over her FD. “Why couldn't I listen properly to what my own FD was telling me? Like an idiot, I went up anyway, and this is how it turns out?” tears fell onto the hood of her car and she felt her legs wobble. This was absolutely the worst thing to have happened tonight, and the worst part, she got reamed out by her _ opponent _ of all creatures. About taking care of her FD! _ Her _ FD! It’s terrifying to have someone lecture you on taking care of your own car and listening to warning signs!

The roar of an engine caught her attention and she turned in time to see one of Project D’s vans come around the corner, surprising her stiff as it came to a stop beside her and the window rolled down to reveal two people she didn’t know, the siren from the night before being one of them, and Keisuke leaning into the front to look at her.

“Your car can still run, yeah? Quit spacing, hang a U-turn.” her eyes widened and she did as Keisuke asked, following after the van and back to the lot. Both Keisuke and what looked to be a mechanic got out, the mechanic getting out a flashlight and popping her FD’s hood to peer in.

“Keisuke came back to our group looking extremely miffed.” a voice beside her startled her, and she turned to see the siren. “It took a minute to get what was wrong out of him, since Takumi wasn’t around to get him to talk.”

“As I’d thought,” the mechanic began. “A pipe’s slipped off. The intercooler hose looks a little worse for wear too.”

“Is it fixable, Tomiguchi?” the mechanic straightened up, a pair of cat ears flicking atop his head.

“I think I can manage something with what I have. I bought a whole range of parts for this section.”

“Great!” Keisuke said, looking happy. “Let’s get to it, on the double!”

“Keisuke was very upset that he might not get to race. Mentioned that it wasn’t fair that Takumi would still get to race while he had to be sidelined, again.” the siren continued. “So after a moment of venting, he asked Tomiguchi and I to accompany him with a van to see what was wrong with your FD. He didn’t want to be sidelined again.” the siren smiled a little awkwardly. “Hopefully, Ryousuke isn’t too grouchy about our using parts to fix the enemy’s car.”

After a while of work, Keisuke and Tomiguchi both pulled back with a sigh, stretching a little as Keisuke cleaned his arms and got into the driver side, starting her up at Tomiguchi’s say.

“Alright, she’s good!” the cat called, and Keisuke let up, shutting her off. Nejibana clicked curiously as she looked around the interior from her position on Keisuke’s shoulder.

“There.” Keisuke said to Kyoko as he shut the door. “The boost should be working perfectly, so nothing should let you complain about a lack of power!”

“I-I really don’t know what to say about this-”

“Then don’t say anything.” he plowed through her words. “Just race.” as he turned and walked back towards the van, the rest of Kyoko’s team pulled in. “Alright! Let’s pack her up and move out!”

“Right!”

_“Well well, he’s just won checkmate, huh?”_ Nobuhiko commented as the the team walked up.

“He may be our rival, but that was just too damn cool.” another teammate commented. As the van pulled away, Nobuhiko came up to her.

_ “Come on, we need to talk strategy.” _

“I wanna go first.” she stated suddenly, much to their shock.

_ “Go first? It’s good that you’re going on the offensive, but tactics-wise, I wonder if it wouldn’t be better for you to come from behind for the first race. As far as I can tell, their FD isn’t used to this kind of course.” _

“I’m sorry you think that, but you have to let me do this my way. I’m determined to take the lead!” Nobuhiko was stunned silent, before he sighed and made his way back to his car.

_ “Fine, fine. Let’s get to the starting line.” _

~0~

Keisuke exhaled as they finally got their cars set up, unable to remain still for too long as the need to race ran strong in him.

“I-I’m Kyoko Iwase.” his opponent stated, and Keisuke nodded passively.

“Keisuke Takahashi.” he responded, and turned to see Ryousuke standing beside his car.

**“Keisuke, a word of advice.”** Ryousuke began unprompted as Keisuke came to a stop before him.

“Huh?”

**“If something strikes you as odd in the middle of this race, there’s one thing you should remember: your opponent drives a single turbine.”** Keisuke felt his face contort into a very agitated but confused expression as he rose a single brow.

“What the hell does that even mean, aniki?”

**“You’ll figure it out.”** Ryousuke turned towards Fumihiro as Nejibana clicked on Keisuke’s shoulder, obviously humored. **“We’re ready to begin, Fumihiro.”**

“Right!” as Keisuke got into his FD, Nejibana hopped from his shoulder to the dash, a position he’d never really seen her take in his car during a race before.

“You gonna be alright there, lil bit?” he asked, and Nejibana bobbed once with a few clicks. I’ll be fine, she seemed to be saying.

“Alright, if you’re positive.” with that stated, Fumihiro released them and they both pulled onto the course, Keisuke’s eyes catching Takumi’s watching intently as he went. The race had begun, and now he had to focus.

~0~

Nejibana watched silently from her position on the dash, taking note of the black FD’s movements and Keisuke’s responses to them much as she did with Takumi and any opponent he was against. It was a habit she had gotten into during quiet downtimes, when Takumi wasn’t speaking and was too focused on the race to listen to her running commentary. They turn a corner and she slides a little, using her legs to latch onto the dash and keep herself from moving too far from her spot.

“She’s a good driver.” she heard Keisuke commented. “A really good driver. But is she really enough of an opponent to make me struggle?”

_“Doubtful.”_ Nejibana muttered, clicking a little in agitation.

“Why the hell does it seem like she’s better? Am I really racing that badly?” Nejibana sometimes wished that Takumi would bring him into her familiar contract, oh the things she wanted to say to the oni. “Is it my car? No, it can’t be my car-” one of the back tires slipped and Keisuke let out an agitated sound as they rounded the corner. “Alright, no, calm down Keisuke. Don’t get all riled up. Just stay cool. The race has only just started, after all.”

_“That bird has master Keisuke all confused.”_ Nejibana rumbled angrily. _“I don’t like it.”_

“I’ve never had a good reason for tackling the mountain pass before.” Kyoko said to herself, lowly. “I know that I’ll likely never defeat him, I just want him to see. I want him to see how good of a racer I am” she wanted to impress him, to prove to him that she _ was _ a good opponent, and that she did care for her car! “This is why I chose to race in front! Right now, he’s watching my every move, trying to figure out a way to pass me, and I have to make sure he can’t!”

“She’s very fast.” Keisuke commented. “I’m shocked. I didn’t think too much of her, ‘cause she’s a girl and all, but I was completely off.” he snorted. “I should really stop thinking like that. But, knowing now how good she is, I’m kicking it into high gear, and I’m gonna give it my all! I don’t plan on being beaten by someone with the same 13B!” he grit his teeth, smiling widely as Nejibana began clicking loudly, obviously excited.

He wasn’t gonna lose, not today.

“Give me your all, my beautiful 13B turbo! ROAR FOR ME!”

~0~

“I just got a call saying that their abilities have evened out. It’s a fair and even right now.” Fumihiro stated, shutting his phone and pocketing it.

**“It has long been theory that single turbine engines can attain sudden, explosive power when pushed past a certain RPM threshold, but modern turbines are highly functional and will operate rapidly even when there is little back pressure. That type of power generation is well suited to this course, no doubt making the car easier to drive. The person who worked on it knew this course inside and out, and was quite clever. In comparison, Keisuke’s own FD is a twin turbo. It’s method of power output is not at all suited for this course. That acts as a handicap, meaning that at present, this is an even race.”**

“If you know that, couldn’t you have given us a little hint during the practice runs so we could have had enough time to fiddle with the car’s settings?” Fumihiro asked.

**“No, to have to rely upon power settings is to be unfit to be a driver in Project D.”** Fumihiro noticed Takumi’s brows furrow downwards slightly. **“I told you that Keisuke’s assignment in this race had to do with accelerator handling, right? This road’s surface is in poor condition, resulting in limited traction, which it turn makes it the ideal stage for accelerator handling training. If we were to assign a level of five in terms of maximum acceleration that Keisuke can currently control, ideally, that will double, going to ten. I underwent the same training myself after all, long ago.”**

~0~

“The space between us keeps opening up a little on the straightaways.” Keisuke frowned, catching Nejibana’s attention. “Does her FD have more power than my own? If so, why is she so stable coming out of corners?” the rear tire slid again and he frowned further. “I should have more acceleration power, but I’m having a harder time with this. Am I just that bad a driver?”

_“No!”_ she exclaimed.

“Aniki, I don’t get it.” Keisuke whined, continuing his murmuring. “You said that she has a single turbine, but what the hell does that mean!? What’s the difference between a single and a twin!?” the tires continued sliding as he cleared the corner, forcing him to grunt. Nejibana found she didn’t like the way Keisuke was talking. “Even if I step on the gas at the same point she is, she moves smoothly while I slide around wildly! No matter how you look at it, I’m putting more load on the tires. What the hell do I do!? If I delay my acceleration timing, I’ll just fall behind.”

_ “Then don’t change the points!” _

“Maybe… maybe it’s the way I accelerate that’s flawed and not my acceleration points. Maybe I should be more delicate about it. Up until now, I’ve been stepping down about two centimeters. If I do half of that…” the car slid and he winced. “No, still too much! Damn it, this is hard! This is the first time I’ve tried this kind of delicate accelerator handling!”

_“You can do it!”_ Nejibana clicked loudly, and Keisuke glanced at her, his lips twitching upwards before he focused once more. He may not be able to understand her, but Nejibana was glad that he understood she was cheering him on. They both watched closely, and it was when they began nearing the goal that it happened, the FD in front of them bounced a little, and the rear tires began skidding before it was pulled back under control.

“I’VE GOT IT!” Keisuke yelled triumphantly, startling Nejibana. “I get what aniki was telling me! I can’t believe I was so stupid as to not see it before! Gods, I’m such an idiot! She may be very fast when she’s running smoothly, but if she gets thrown off even a little, she becomes very vulnerable. I’m not certain, but a single turbine engine is probably a pretty peaky thing!” he smirked, coming up beside the black FD and, at a corner, bumping it to throw it off balance. The car swerved and Keisuke came in beside it, slowly pulling ahead.

Nejibana was cackling.

“She didn’t step on the gas, and her boost pressure dropped! My twin turbo may have a lag, but this is when it shines!” and with the next corner, he passed her and sped off towards the finish line.

He won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobuhiko is also a mouse spider, like Wataru and Kazumi, but unlike the other Akiyama Jorōgumo, who are Eastern Mouse Spiders, he's a Red-Headed Mouse Spider.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author remains biased against certain characters as the other race of the night is held and drama blooms

“I did it.” Keisuke said as he emerged from his FD, Nejibana secured firmly on his shoulder. “Somehow...” Nejibana hopped over to Takumi as he came close and began clicking away, pulling his attention away from everything else. “I was a pretty tight race, the car’s settings were all wrong. I’d noticed that as soon as the race began, but there was nothing that could be done about it. The only thing I could do was reign myself in with the accelerator and try to save my tires. It was goddamn hard you know.”

“Still,” Fumihiro began. “It’s still impressive that you noticed the opponent’s weak point at the last possible second.”

“Yeah, sure, I guess.” Matsumoto shook his head at Keisuke’s hesitance, that was something he’d expect from Takumi. “It was the smallest thing, something on the course caused her to wobble. She’d recovered well, but after that her acceleration speed was sluggish, and it looked like I could just ram into her. And that’s when it dawned on me.” Takumi turned his attention back to Keisuke as Nejibana finished talking, deciding she wanted to go somewhere else she leaped over to Tomiguchi, much to his surprise, and situated herself on his left shoulder. “Maybe the car had a peaky engine with a substantial turbo lag. It’s powerful as straight vertical racing, but weak when it comes to horizontal racing. It’s something that, had I noticed it sooner, I might not have had such a hard time tonight.”

**“Well done, Keisuke.”** Ryousuke said, smiling faintly.** “But do not forget today’s accelerator handling. I want you to practice it repeatedly once we get back to Akagi, until it becomes a part of your repertoire. While it’s not flashy, it is a technique of great importance. It will dramatically increase your range of tactics to improve tire performance.”**

“You planned all of this, didn’t you aniki?” Keisuke asked rhetorically in response, looking vaguely put out as Ryousuke’s smile became a little more visible. Matsumoto huffed good naturedly, of course Ryousuke planned all this out. A sharp motion from the other side of the lot caught his attention and he turned his ears, closing his eyes as he tried to focus in on his hearing, and tune out his team.

“... sorry…” he heard the tail end of Keisuke’s opponent’s apology.

_“There’s nothing for you to apologize for. You ran the best race you could, right?”_

“... yeah.”

_“Then their driver was just simply a notch above you, it happens all the time in racing. Honestly, I’d thought that he would become more panicky, placing wear on his tires, but it seems like he has a genius-like ability to adapt to the conditions of a race.”_ Matsumoto nearly snickered and wondered what Keisuke would think about being complimented by the leader of the rival team like that. _“He may be our opponent, but all I can say to him now is ‘Well done.’_” there was a pause in talking. _“Anyway, next up is the downhill. I intend to do my best as well…”_

_“Matsumoto?”_ Takumi’s voice knocked him out of his eavesdropping and he turned his ears back to the front, opening his eyes to look at the surprisingly smaller than usual Jorōgumo. _“What were you doing?”_

“What any good kitsune does with their time; I was eavesdropping out of sheer curiosity.”

_“Is that ethical?”_

“No, but it’s great fun!” he chuckled. “Gives me something to do when I don’t have anything.” his gaze turned to the 86. “But I guess I do have something at the moment so I really don’t have an excuse.” and with that, he turned back towards the 86 and headed towards it to begin work again. Takumi himself merely shook his head and settled himself down on the other side to allow the kitsune space to do his thing. After a few minutes, Fumihiro came over to him with Nejibana, who’d somehow managed to perch herself on his shoulder despite not really being anywhere near the siren while he or Tomiguchi while he had her.

_“Bana, what are you doing?”_ he asked before Fumihiro could get a word in.

_“Making friends!”_

_“You don’t make friends by using them as perches.”_

_“It worked with **you**, didn’t it?”_

_“I’m a different story, goofball, spider familiars are supposed to be able to perch on the Jorōgumo they’re bonded to.”_ Nejibana clicked in upset, prompting Fumihiro to chuckle.

“Good to know that you two seem to be in the mood for banter.” he commented. “Anyway, I came over in the first place to tell you that you’re leading.”

_“Me?”_

“Yeah. It’s unexpected, isn’t it? We all expected your opponent to want to lead.” he gestured over his shoulder to the Jorōgumo on the other team and he narrowed his eyes a little. Why did he seem familiar? “How’s the check coming along, Matsumoto?”

“Just finished. She’s ready to go at any time.” the kitsune responded, closing the trunk.

“Alright, thank you.” Fumihiro immediately turned, announcing that it was time to line up the cars, and Takumi was quick to suppress his form up to the limbs and get in the car. As he looked out the windshield, getting ready to move, he watched Nejibana hop off of Fumihiro and dart back towards Keisuke, quick to climb up him and settled back on his shoulder. He looked away and moved the car, pilling to the start with his opponent following close behind.

**“Takumi.” **Ryousuke said as he came to a stop, catching his attention.

_“Yes?”_

**“Once the race starts, hold back for a little bit and keep pace with the rear car.”** Takumi tilted his head. **“Even if a little distance opens between you, pull him along without shaking him off. Once you clear the first hairpin, you may do as you like. And I mean as you like, but not until after the first hairpin, understand?” **

_“Yes.”_

**“Good. Fumihiro, you may begin!”**

“Alright. Beginning the countdown!” Takumi rolled up his window as Ryousuke stepped away from the car, Matsumoto coming up to stand beside him. A rapid flicker of movement caught his eye and he moved to look at it, his eyes widening.

A crow? Awake this late at night?

“GO!” Fumihiro’s shout was startling and Takumi counted himself lucky that Spider had been paying attention when he wasn’t and took over for a single moment to start when told.

** _’Think about the odd bird later, we have a race to win!’_ **

~0~

Nejibana was starting to feel tired. Takumi had been vaguely on edge all night, and with their bond, she couldn’t help but be the same.

“So the downhill has finally started, eh?” she heard Keisuke comment.

**“Mnn, I wish I could go watch it.”** Kenta lamented from his spot on the FD’s roof, curled up with his tail draped over the side. **“But this was designated a no-fly zone above a certain height.”**

“Yeah, that does suck for flying creatures, huh?”  
  
**“Yeah. Oh, but now that your race is finished, it’s like I’m relieved enough that I’ve gotten hungry!”**

“I think there’s still lots of food left in van one from the convenience store run.” Keisuke said, motioning behind him.

**“Really!?”** Nejibana could tell that Kenta had perked. **“If that’s the case, I’m gonna go get something to eat!”** there was a very soft scraping sound as Kenta lifted from the FD and tried not to scratch it in his eagerness to get food. **“Do you want anything, Keisuke?”**

“No, I’m fine.”

**“Alright.”** as Kenta hurried off, Kyoko began making her way forward on her talons, causing Nejibana to begin trying to catch the oni’s attention and direct it towards his opponent. Keisuke looked over in her direction and the small spider heard him let out a quiet breath.

“Uh…” she heard Keisuke let out a small sound. “I really want to thank you for everything.”

“What the… I didn’t do anything for you to go thanking me like that!”

“Yes you did! You fixed my FD for me!”

“I only did that because I didn’t want to be sidelined again like I had been last time. And anyway, we settled any thanks with that race.” his stern look softened vaguely, Nejibana knew that would be a mistake. “Besides, I made a few new discoveries during our race, so we’re even, alright?” Kyoko’s eyes widened. “You’re a really great driver, and fast, and I’m not just saying that, I’m not one for empty flattery, or flattery at all for that matter. I may have said some pretty harsh things at first, so I’m gonna say now that I don’t really mean them anymore.”

“Y-You don’t have to-”

“Then let’s consider the matter entirely closed.” he closed his eyes and looked away while Nejibana watched the harpy intently. Master was right, her species did seem familiar. There was a soft shuffling sound, followed by the crinkle of a bag, and it was that moment that Kenta came back over carrying an entire bag of food. and it was that moment that Kenta came back over carrying an entire bag of food.

“By the Outsiders, Kenta, how much did you get!?”

**“A lot, I knew that you’d probably get peckish eventually and brought you some anyway!”** was the unhelpful response, before his gaze landed on the harpy. **“Oh, hi! Would you like something to snack on? There’s plenty here.”**

“Oh, no thank you.” Kyoko responded, sounding slightly confused, almost like she didn’t know how to respond. “I’m fine, I should be getting back to my team, anyway.”

**“Okay!”** Kenta chirped and settled back onto the FD’s roof, starting to rummage through the bag as Keisuke peered in.

“You didn’t need to get that much for us both!” he exclaimed, and quickly the two devolved into bickering as Kyoko fled. Nejibana let out a tired sigh.

She wanted to go home, or at least find somewhere quiet to curl up and nap.

~0~

_“He’s incredible… and incredibly dangerous! His corner entry is insane! He’s so smooth with it it’s like he’s gliding… it’s like I could get sucked right into his rhythm.”_ Nobuhiko narrowed his eyes.

It was all wrong.

_“Why am I able to keep up with him, if even barely? Because there’s less of a slope here compared to just after the start? I can’t believe that would be the only reason. He should have more skill than just this!”_ he shuttered, a limb coming up to cover his heart as his pedipalps shifted agitatedly._ “My heart’s pounding, I’m just as excited as when I’d just bought my car and ran my first race! All of my senses are completely engaged. Show me what you can do, 86! Show me the true nature of your speed and technique!!”_ just as he says this, they enter the first hairpin and the 86’s motions turn almost unnatural as he struggled to maintain his speed. As he came out of the hairpin, his eyes widened as he took in the space between him and the 86. He watched his opponent come to the next corner and what he saw almost forced him to stop.

The 86 became a blur, there one moment and gone the next without any warning or show of it ever having even been there.

_“What the fuck…”_

~0~

_“So, dear cousin, how was it?”_ Wataru’s voice was as much a blessing as it was a curse to hear. _“What are your thoughts after having gone up against the Gunma area’s downhiller?”_

_“‘How was it?’ he asks.”_ Nobuhiko nearly snapped._ “He ended the race after the first damn hairpin!”_

_“Hahh, either you suck ass or he improved dramatically.”_ Wataru taunted. Nobuhiko began clicking angrily in response. _“When I faced off against that 86, it was a close race that could have gone either way, even after five rounds.”_

_“It’s because this course has a mix of uphill stages, don’t you think? If it were purely downhill, I wonder if the race would have lasted that long.”_

_“What are you tryna do, hit me where it hurts?”_ Wataru pouted. _“I bet he held back on you, he had to go all out against me!”_

_“Shut up!”_ Wataru smirked victoriously, having hit it right on the nose. _“Besides all that, the 86’s downhill certainly was enough to give me goosebumps. But… there’s something that’s bothering me about it all. While I know that he was keeping pace with me on purpose, the one thing he did when he started distancing himself after the first hairpin…”_ he trailed off, much to Wataru’s concern. His cousin didn’t trail off like that unless it was something really bothering him. Nobuhiko shook his head. _“Anyway, thanks to what I was able to see, I’ve come up with my own solution. I know a way to beat that damn 86.”_

_“What!?”_

_“That’s right.”_ as he finished speaking, the 86 flew around the corner and was gone in moments. It sent shivers down the spiders’ spines.

_“It’s incredible, huh? His acceleration.”_ Wataru commented. _“He really has improved. They must be doing a time trial.”_

_“I wonder what kind of course record he’ll set.”_ Nobuhiko swallowed. _“Today’s race was just the opening move towards the second round of this stage Saitama has suddenly become. I don’t think we could have asked for worthier opponents.”_

_“Right, we’ll stop them here. Project D won’t move on to the next stage!”_

~0~

“Kenji, jeez, you again?” Iketani asked rudely as Itsuki came to stand beside him.

“Oi, just what kind of greeting is ‘jeez’!?” Kenji groused as he exited his car. “Especially after I brought you a printout of D’s homepage!”

“Oh! Oh!” Itsuki bounced excitedly. “Show us Kenji, please!” Kenji laughed at his eagerness.

“Alright, here.” he handed Iketani the printout and leaned against his car as the wolf unfolded it, Itsuki peering over his shoulder excitedly. “As always, they were victorious. They won both the downhill and the hillclimb, and even set a course record!” Iketani and Itsuki let out identical sounds of awe. “Incredible, right? They’ve run a string of courses for the very first time, and haven’t lost once!”

“That world of theirs is a little hard to even begin imagining.” Itsuki said dreamily. “I’d sure like to go watch.”

“That does sound pretty fun, and Saitama isn’t very far either.” he looked up from the paper and smiled lopsidedly at Itsuki. “What do you say we go cheer them on at their next race?” Itsuki exploded into sound at that, exuding genuine excitement as he latched onto Iketani’s arm. Kenji looked between the two with suspicious eyes. Something was going on there, he could feel it.

~0~

“You met him again?! Why didn’t you ask him out?”

“I am not interested in him like _ that _. And besides, the spider next to him had a mate mark that perfectly matched him.” Kyoko growled a little.

“Being taken has never stopped true love, dear koel!” her friend crooned. “I am sure you ca-”

“**I will not!**” Kyoko cut her friend out, feeling the peering eyes of the other cafe goers. “I am just glad that he helped me fix my FD and then let me race against him to the fullest…” she trailed off, anxiety settling in again from all the curious eyes on her.

“Out of all the koels I’ve met, you’re the oddest, I don’t understand you.” Kyoko sighed before dropping her head to the table. 

“Then stop trying to treat me like any other koel...” she cried, her voice muffled. “All you’re doing right now is deterring me away from any possible relationship.” her friend chuckled nervously as Kyoko sat back up. “Why can’t you just support me on things I actually love?”

“I’m sorry, Kyoko...” she spoke lowly. “I’m just not used to socializing with birds like you.”

~0~

**“... have you ever noticed that Keisuke’s really popular with the other gender?”** Kenta’s sudden question caught Tomiguchi and Fumihiro off guard.

“Whoa there…”

“What are you on about, Kenta? This is pretty sudden!” Fumihiro cawed.

**“Ah, well, I just… I kinda got that impression last night.”**

“Well, there’s no reason in bringing it up now, Kenta.”

**“Yeah… I guess…”**

“Despite the suddenness of it, it is a good question.” Tomiguchi commented, his left ear twitching.

“Keisuke wasn’t interested in anything these past few years, add to that his current and fairly new courtship with Takumi.”

**“Why wasn’t Keisuke interested in anyone?”**

“Too much hassle.” Fumihiro responded. “Even before his awakening, Keisuke’s never been good at juggling responsibilities, so he dropped the desire to date in exchange for focusing entirely on racing. His last fling, before he joined the Red Suns, he dropped because he was busy, and couldn’t make time to meet. He was out racing the pass every night, and was completely occupied by that one thing, so it was probably good he dropped her when he did.” he fell silent as they thought about that.

“What made him change his mind?” Tomiguchi suddenly asked, catching their attention. “You said he wasn’t interested in dating at all. What made him change his mind and settle for Takumi?” that had them thinking.

“You know what, Tomiguchi?” Fumihiro let out a breath. “I have no idea. Why don’t you ask him yourself?” that made Tomiguchi jump on his toes.

~0~

“Nobuhiko! I’m over here!” Wataru called, waving at his cousin from further inside the restaurant. Nobuhiko said something to the hostess, then made his way over. “You’re late.”

“I know, sorry, there was more traffic than I expected.” Nobuhiko said as he slid into the booth beside him. Wataru nodded in understanding, then looked across the table. “I’ll introduce you, this is my cousin, Nobuhiko.” Nobuhiko greeted the other pleasantly. “Nobuhiko, this is the one I’ve been telling you about, Sakamoto.”

“Hi!” Sakamoto greeted politely before taking a sip of his drink.

“He’s very fast, drives a Ferrari and is a _fanatic_. You won’t find a more perfect driver for the plan.”

“I wouldn’t say that-”

“Oh, but if Wataru recommends you, I’m positive there’s no doubting his words.”

“Now out with it, Nobu, what’s this plan of yours?”

“Well, we have the data on Project D’s expeditions up til now, correct? Added to that the 86’s capabilities, which I have seen myself. With all of that, and a lot of thinking, through process of elimination I was able to come up with an answer.”

“Damn it, Nobuhiko, out with it, and simply! You know I can’t follow half of what you say.”

“Right, take it easy on us.”

“But what I’m trying to say is already extremely simple.” he turned to Sakamoto. “Can you drive an FR?”

“Yep!”

“Sakamoto can drive anything, but he’s driven FRs the longest. He’s _really_ good!”

“Then we’ll be alright. To add to today’s fun, I brought it along with me, the ultimate weapon for this plan.” he stood quickly and began walking out, causing Wataru and Sakamoto to look at each other owlishly.

“Wait, ultimate weapon!?” Wataru exclaimed, getting up and hurrying after Nobuhiko with Sakamoto in tow.

“Correct.” as Nobuhiko stepped outside, the lenses on his glasses flashed. “Ultimate weapon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can tell who I do and don't like by how much feral energy the dialogue gives off.
> 
> Edited: 2/5/20


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things happen leading up to the first race against the Saitama-Northwest Area Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote both races but decided to cut those into the next chapter instead.
> 
> Edited: 2/5/20

Wataru and Nobuhiko watched intently, poised, waiting, motionless, as the sound of an engine grew closer and closer, tires squealing, and a small red car came flying around the corner, flying past. There was a beep, and Wataru brought up a limb to look at the stopwatch clutched within the hand. His eyes widened and he turned to his cousin.

_“I’m starting to get what you meant about ‘Ultimate Weapon’, Nobuhiko. Sure enough, in a sense, this car could be a monster machine, despite its size._” he looked back down at the stopwatch, firmly ignoring Nobuhiko’s smug stare. _“Even just taking it out for a light spin is yielding this kind of time.”_

_“That’s why I said this was about something extraordinarily simple.”_

_“It’s weight, isn’t it?”_

_“Mmm. One weapon that no opponent has used yet it to be lightweight. On a downhill stage, being lightweight is the ultimate weapon that breaks all rules. If we use that as our counter strike, and on a difficult course specific to this area,the defeat of Project D’s 86 will definitely be within reach! That Cappuccino minicar is our ticket to victory!”_ there was a high pitched squeal of tires interrupting that train of thought. _“I guess that’s a Ferrari racer for you, that cornering. I don’t care much for taking a car sideways during corner entry. That car has a shorter wheelbase, which allows it to enter spin mode faster.”_

_“I’d told you, Nobu. He’s a fanatic. No matter what kind of car or how narrow the road, he’s always gonna take it out sideways. Doing that allows him to pin down a car’s quirks and limits. That fanaticism is a lot like Akina’s 86, in a way.”_ Wataru smiled, clicking a little as his pedipalps shifted. _“I’m really looking forward to this, y’know. Finally putting a stop so the mighty 86’s consecutive wins.”_

_“Right, so come anytime, Project D. We’ll show you the true power of a united Saitama-Northwest Area team!”_

~0~

“Today,” Fumihiro began. “The course we’ll be scouting is supposedly very narrow, and intersected by the occasional drainage ditch.”

“Mmhm.” Keisuke hummed, following along but remaining focused on the road.

“Well, Saitama courses are apparently pretty much the same everywhere in the prefecture.”

“Mmhm.” they were silent for a moment, before Fumihiro’s eyes landed on Nejibana, who was snoozing away on the FD’s dash.

“She still hasn’t gone home?” he asked, gesturing to her, and Keisuke hummed.

“Takumi said that she wanted to stay with me.” he answered. “She’s just as stubborn as he is, so it’s not like he could change her mind, and he isn’t one to order her around. So, she’s with me. I don’t mind.” a small smile came across the blonde’s face. “Though, aniki’s starting to wonder if she’s ever going home. He does like her, she’s just around too much.”

“Doesn’t Takumi need her?” Fumihiro sounded confused, and Keisuke shrugged.

“If he did, he’d tell me, not to mention she’d probably know he needed her. It’s in their contract I think.” Keisuke glanced at him. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”

~0~

“A union of the Saitama and Northwest areas?” Kyoko echoed faintly.

“Yep.” a teammate said, tugging on one of his floppy ears again. “Project D operates so much like an organization that we’re absolutely screwed if we act individually. At this point, the only way to fight them is through our network of associates, right? That’s why Nobuhiko and the others have temporarily teamed up for the time being.”

“Hah?”

“The thing about it is, they need money, so everyone is pitching in a little. Are you able to give any?”

“Ah, yeah, if need be.” her wings shifted back into arms and hands as she reached for her wallet. “How much? Is five thousand yen gonna be enough? I-”

“Kyoko.” another voice called catching her mid-motion as she turned to look. He motioned behind himself. “I need a word.”

“Uh…” she only hesitated a moment before following after him, repocketing her wallet and shifting her limbs back into wings to take flight and catch up.

“Kyoko,” he said when they were out of range. “Are you really okay with this?”

“With what?”

“The collection to defeat Project D.” Kyoko’s posture shifted. “With things coming to this, I’m going to ask you straight up, whose side are you on? In terms of feelings, I mean.”

“Whose side…” she began puffing up, was he really suggesting…?

“If you feel kinda on the fence about it, it’s okay if you don’t pitch in. Nobuhiko and the others are serious about defeating Project D, if you’re not one hundred percent about it, you don’t have to participate. I’m not trying to be mean or anything. You know what I’m trying to say, right?” she rose a brow and his expression fell a little. “Kyoko… the Takahashi brothers of Project D are the sons of someone who runs a huge hospital, did you know that?”

“What?” she genuinely looked taken aback. “Not at all. Why are you even telling me this? I couldn’t care less!”

“Well, now you know. They’re easy on the eyes, and have the money to back up whatever. I honestly think you shouldn’t get wrapped up in that kinda guy.”

“Outsiders, I knew it!” she exclaimed, causing him to take a step back. “I wasn’t trying to chase after one of the Takahashi brothers, so stop implying it! It also hurts that you’d insinuate that I’m not good enough for someone of their status anyway!”

“No. that’s not what I’m saying at all!” he was sweating, he’d never heard Kyoko sound this angry before, and he wasn’t going to lie, it was kinda scary. “I’m just warning you, there are people from all sides who might harass you over them! I just want you to be careful.” and with that, he turned and began walking back towards the others, leaving her with her particularly angry thoughts.

~0~

_Beep!_

Wataru looked at the stopwatch once more, before showing it to his cousin.

_“The time is coming along nicely.”_ he commented, Nobuhiko nodding in agreement.

_“Call all this **cheating** or whatever you’d like, but I want to beat Project D, and quite honestly, this is the only way to do it.”_

_“Right.”_ there was a sudden shifting in a nearby tree that caught Wataru’s attention, and he turned in time to see a rather large crow staring at both of them intently before taking flight and vanishing into the darkness. Wataru narrowed his eyes. That isn’t normal behavior for a bird, not that he knew of.

Something was up, and he hated that he didn’t know what.

~0~

“Your dad’s giving you the 86 completely!?” Itsuki exclaimed in surprise.

“Mm. He’s getting the title changed over and everything.”

“What’s he gonna do, then?”

“He told me he’s buying something else.”

“Huh? Like what?”

“Dunno. All he said was that it’ll be practical. Easy to drive. Maybe he’s thinking about an automatic. Or a minivan.” Takumi looked thoughtful at that, even as Itsuki visibly wilted.

“Aw, for real!? Damn, there goes his image. The so called ‘Legendary Racer of Akina’, driving an automatic or a minivan…”

“So? What’s the harm? My old man may be immortal and resilient like any other spider but his human disguise is gettin’ old. The older the disguise, the less agile a spider can be while using it. It’d probably be better for him if he got some old-man car and settled down, at least until we can get around to renewing his disguise…”

“What’s that entail, this renewal you speak of?”

“It’s complicated, and it’ll take too long for me to explain, I gotta go now, or I’ll be late for the rendezvous and Keisuke will kick one of my limbs!”

“Get going then, Takumi! I’ll see you later or something! I’ll be going with Iketani and the others to cheer you on tomorrow!”

“Alright, see you then, Itsuki!”

~0~

**“Say, Fumihiro.”**

“Hmm?”

**“This latest expedition could turn out to be the greatest challenge Takumi has yet faced.”** Fumihiro glanced at Ryousuke, confused by the admission. The sphinx didn’t say things like that without the knowledge of it being the case.

“Just Takumi? All his races are tough, though. One right after the other. I mean, he’s faced a pro and won.”

**“This could turn out to be more difficult than that.”** Ryousuke responded easily.

“Someone more difficult than a _pro_?” Fumihiro commented in disbelief.

**“You always automatically assume I mean the driver when I say more difficult. It’s not always the driver who turns out to be the greatest challenge.”** Ryousuke side eyed the siren, his ears flicking.

“What else could you possibly mean?”

**“You’ll find out soon enough.”** he let out a small yawn and reclined his seat.** “I’m going to sleep, please don’t wake me until we reach our destination.”**

“Alright.” Fumihiro responded, before focusing back on the road. _‘What does that mean… his ‘greatest challenge’? Just what the hell…’_

~0~

_“They’re here.”_ Wataru commented, walking forward with Nobuhiko as he spotted Takumi getting out and stretching all of his limbs, before full shifting. _“Hey! We’ve been waiting here eagerly for you all!”_ his voice caught everyone’s attention, Takumi’s eyes widening before his entire expression shifted. Wataru chuckled oddly, before stopping before Takumi and setting a hand on the spider’s shoulder. _“Good to see you again, Takumi. You remember me?”_

_“How could I not remember you.”_ Takumi asked rhetorically, removing the other spider’s hand from his shoulder in time for Nejibana’s fangs to stab where the offending limb had been. _“Nejibana if I hadn’t known you were gonna do that we’d be in serious trouble!”_

_“He touched you!”_

_“Everyone touches me!”_ Nejibana huffed, even as Wataru chuckled a little at the argument.

_“It’s still good to see you, even if I’m not the one you’ll be racing today.”_ Nobuhiko came up beside him.

“Hey, it’s you!” Fumihiro exclaimed, his feathers poofing up, and Nobuhiko smiled passively.

_“Forgive this old foe for coming back under a new guise, but this time I’m a sideliner.”_ Fumihiro relaxed some at that, his feathers falling. _“In any case, we’ve opened the course up to you for tonight, so race as much as you like.”_

“Understood.”

_“Hey, Takumi, mind talking later?”_ Wataru asked, tilting his head, and Takumi’s expression shifted again as he thought.

_“No, I don’t mind.”_

_“Great! I’ll talk to you later then!”_ and with that, he and Nobuhiko walked off. Takumi turned to Keisuke.

_“No wonder I thought he looked familiar. He’s related to Wataru.”_ Keisuke blinked a little, looking at them, before tilting his head.

“Hey, I guess you’re right.”

**“Alright,”** Ryousuke began, catching their attention. **“There’s a moisture to this wind, so there’s likely rain inbound. I’d say we have a fifty percent chance of it.”**

“Well, I can’t say I’m all too thrilled about that.”

**“There should be no problem as long as you etch the details of this course into memory.”** Ryousuke responded. **“So concentrate. Your goal is to make fifty runs by morning. Hop to it!”**

~0~

The roll of thunder halfway through the night startled everyone as Wataru looked to the sky.

_“I wonder if it’ll rain come daybreak.”_ he commented faintly.

_“Probably.”_ Nobuhiko responded. _“Rain would be welcome, and would make the curves perfect for Sakamoto. The worse conditions get, the more effective our weapon will be.”_

_“But if the rain gets too bad, we’ll have to cancel the race.”_

_“I doubt that, Wataru. All four cars are FRs, which means they’re on equal footing, Also, our opponents don’t seem like the type to run away over something like rain.”_ they both turned to look at the two currently out, both chatting about something they couldn’t hear. _“We couldn’t ask for a more perfect turn of events. If there’s a such thing as fate, that which could sway the course of a race, then it has undoubtedly turned in our favor!”_

It was much later in the day when the Akiyamas and Sakamoto arrived back on the course, rain coming down in sheets, coating the roads in a slippery layer.

_“Damn.”_ Wataru said, bringing his hood up as his limbs tucked closer to himself. No way in hell was he full shifting in this. _“This isn’t good, the road’s getting way too wet.”_

_“There’s nothing for it but to prepare for the worst and head out, yeah?”_ Nobuhiko commented, and Wataru’s passenger door opened, Kazumi stepping out as she tied her hair up.

_“You can’t race in the rain like this!”_ she groaned. _“You’re all crazy idiots!”_

_“You’re one to talk!”_

~0~

“Doesn’t look like the rain is gonna let up.” Itsuki commented quietly.

“Right. It might keep raining like this all night.”

“They’re not gonna cancel the race because of this, are they?”

“I doubt it.” Iketani looked over to Itsuki. “Let’s get ready to head out, alright?”

“Yessir!” Itsuki was quick to rush towards the store, leaving Iketani behind as the wolf remained still. They’d sat down a few nights ago to talk about the jolt they had felt, and after a while of explaining it, Itsuki told him that he needed a bit to think about it. Their dynamic hadn’t changed much afterwards, but Itsuki was now a little more distant, and quiet.

It kinda hurt if Iketani thought about it.

He shook his head and began his way to the store to get ready to change after Itsuki was done. That train of thought could come later.

~0~

**“Ah! They’re coming!”** Kenta’s voice carried over the rain easily from atop one of the vans, and everyone turned to see headlights approaching. **“They have a… a Cappuccino!?”**

“I’m starting to understand more and more what you said in the van, Ryousuke.” Fumihiro commented. “About this race being Takumi’s biggest challenge. They caught us completely off guard. Seems that they have someone with brains too.” Fumihiro’s feathers ruffled. “How’d you even know?”

**“I had help.”** Ryousuke responded. **“I didn’t ask for it, but had been given a warning; that our opponents had planned something big, in the small sense, and to expect the unexpected.”** he gave Fumihiro a smile.** “My visions seemed to be hinting at this as well, so it wasn’t hard to put something like what I told you in the car together. But even I hadn’t known fully what was in store until now.”**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author stops making chapter summaries

_“Here we go!”_ Nobuhiko yelled over the rain, and Takumi nodded at Ryousuke, allowing the sphinx to retreat beneath an umbrella and away from the cars with Matsumoto in tow.

_**‘Didn’t Itsuki say he would be here with the wolf tonight?’**_ Spider asked suddenly, much to Takumi’s confusion.

_“Yes, why?”_

** _‘Well, if one Akiyama is here to race, wouldn’t it stand that the other is here to watch?’_ **

_“Do you mean his relative, or his sister?”_

** _‘Sister.’_ **

_“GO!”_ Nobuhiko cried, and both racers stepped on the gas, even as Takumi thought of a reply.

_“I suppose you’d be correct. Why are you asking, though?”_ Spider merely hummed in response, deciding not to answer, and Takumi sighed in agitation before focusing back on the race, tensing as they rounded a corner and hoping they didn't hydroplane in this rain. His opponent, on the other hand, seemed to not hold the same reservations as he did. _“Outsiders, he’s going incredibly fast! Will I even be able to keep up in these conditions!?”_ he grit his teeth angrily.

_“Takumi.”_ Ryousuke’s voice began to echo in his head. _“I think you’ll understand it once the race begins, but that car will be shockingly fast. You’ll likely fall behind at the corners and be forced to catch up on the straights. This race will be completely unlike any race you have yet partaken, so he’s my advice to you: remember the hardest race you have ever run. Recall the technique used against you that you found most disagreeable, then use it. As an example, the methods used by Emperor’s leader. Something like that would be particularly effective here. And don’t forget, having a completely different mindset will be the key to winning this battle.”_

~0~

**“Gah!”** Kenta nearly snarled as he stumbled over a small pothole. **“Damn half shift, can’t believe I’m still not used to it, such bullshit…”** he continued over towards Keisuke, stopping beside him and opening an umbrella. The oni side eyed him and rose a brow.** “Don’t look at me like that, demon or not you’ll still catch a cold in this rain, and I’m pretty damn sure Jorōgumo have some of the weakest immune systems on this plane.”**

“It’s not a weak immune system, they’re rather resistant to most illnesses.” Keisuke responded matter of factly, and Kenta looked unamused.

**“Just stay under the damn umbrella, smartass.”**

“Wow, you’re snappy today.”

**“You try being unable to full shift because it’s pouring, you’d be snappy too!”** Keisuke chuckled at Kenta’s plight, obviously finding humor in it as he went back to looking at the rival team. **“You curious about them too?”**

“The car they’re using, that Cappuccino, it’s a minicar.” Keisuke said mutedly.

**“Yeah. Almost feels like they’re screwing with us by using that car.”**

“You’re still pretty clueless, aren’t you?”

**“Hey, I’m trying to get better-”**

“Shh. Last year, when Akina’s 86 made its debut, all the racers in Gunma area thought that same thing you just said when they saw Takumi. Because an 86 is an old car and lacks power. But in the end, they all lost, every single one of them, even the NightKids and us RedSuns. They’re making use of the very same advantage Takumi’d had over us.” Keisuke’s eye twitched and he started walking over towards Wataru, Kenta stumbling into stride beside him. “Oi, Akiyama!”

_“Huh?”_ both spiders looked over in surprise.

“Not you.” he said, eyeing Nobuhiko, before turning his gaze to Wataru as he stopped before him. “Just what damned hat did you pull that particular rabbit out of, huh?”

_“If you’re talking like that, then you realize just how dangerous this all is.”_ Wataru responded, and Keisuke bared his teeth, his fangs quickly flashing outwards as his eyes flashed green. Wataru didn’t look intimidated in the slightest, but he did move back the barest amount, aware of the warning when it was given. He looked away and sighed as he heard his car door shut, likely Nobuhiko retreating out of the rain. _“Mind if I duck under that umbrella?”_ Kenta moved the umbrella forward a little and Wataru was under it in a flash, dripping wet. _“Thanks.”_

**“Mm.”** was Kenta’s only response, and they were quiet for a minute.

_“Y’know, I shouldn’t be telling you two this, since you’re the enemy and all that, but… even if we do beat your 86 with that little car, it’ll only satisfy a small part of me.”_ Keisuke eyed his opponent. _“Honestly, the thought of defeating the 86 in this kind of battle in a place like this… it hurts.”_

“Then don’t think or assume he’ll lose.” Keisuke responded immediately, causing the spider to glance at him. “We can’t hope to think of the outcome until it actually happens.”

_“I know, but… honestly I don’t think there’s a chance for Takumi to win.”_ Wataru sounded terribly put out by that.

“What’d I just say about needless assumptions?” Keisuke nearly snapped, turning his head to look at Wataru fully.

**“There’s always a chance.”** Kenta stated softly, and Keisuke nodded.

“Right. If you look at just car against car, then the chances of the 86 winning are very slim looking, but you seem to have forgotten just who is behind the wheel of that suped up little demon. In any contest between driver and driver, anything can happen. And in Takumi’s case, I quite literally mean anything.”

_“What are you trying to say?_” Wataru asked, looking vaguely hostile all of a sudden. _“That our driver’s no good? Sakamoto’s skills are solid, I know he won’t make any slipups.”_

“That’s not at all what I meant.” Keisuke said snappily. “It seems that even though you’ve raced him personally, you’ve never understood just how incredible my mate is.” Wataru turned towards him fully. “He doesn’t run on logic. If you were on our team, you’d understand what I mean.” Keisuke almost sounded rapturous. “There’s genius in this world that can break the boundaries of convention.” Wataru’s expression shifted negatively. “It’s a truth that stings, but I know it to be fact.”

**“Everyone on this team does.”** Kenta chimed in, and they were all silent. After a moment, Keisuke turned and began walking back towards the vans, Kenta hesitating for a moment before passing Wataru the umbrella and running faster than lightning, obviously eager to get another umbrella.

“You just wait and see. Unexpected things always happen to Takumi when he’s behind the wheel.”

~0~

“Nnngahhh, this sucks.” Itsuki whined as he walked down the road with Iketani and Kenji. “All this rain… if I slip one more time I won’t be able to keep myself from getting soaked, and I’ll catch a cold!”

“Quit whining about it.” Iketani groaned. “The one who has the right is Takumi, having to race in this mess!”

“You’re right about that, wolf-boy.” Kenji tacked on. “Downhilling in these conditions is downright terrifying.”

“Both of you have no faith!” Itsuki said arily, causing both of them to look over at him. “Takumi can handle himself just fine in these conditions!” he tilted his head. “He’s driven Akina every night for five years, likely through every kind of weather, too! Not to mention that rain race on Myogi!”

“You know, Itsuki has a point.” Kenji muttered.

“Tacking onto that, I’ve experienced his skill in the rain first hand! I don’t think him losing a race in the rain is even possible!”

~0~

“Y’know, Ryousuke, the way you give Takumi advice seems different from before.” Matsumoto commented, his right ear flicking. Ryousuke gave him a surprised look.

**“Does it?”**

“Mhm. It’s changed.” Matsumoto tilted his head. “How do I put this… before now, it used to be simpler. Much more concrete and concise. ‘Do this like _this_’ as you will. Today’s was much more complex than that. You’re making Takumi think for himself and come to his own decision, that’s what your advice has turned into.” Ryousuke was silent for a moment at that.

**“It’s an indicator of how much Takumi’s improved.”** he finally responded. **“Matsumoto… I seek to provide Keisuke and Takumi with tasks during their D battles.”**

“I had a vague feeling that it was like that. It’s thanks to those tasks that Takumi’s improved as much as he has in such a short period of time.” Ryousuke shifted a little, his wings quivering.

**“I… I may have gone a little too far this time.”** he admitted quietly, much to Matsumoto’s visible concern. **“Considering his opponent, not everything will go according to plan. I may have placed this hurdle too high for Takumi to handle.”**

~0~

_“I don’t understand it.”_ Takumi muttered to himself. _“This has never happened before, not once!”_

**_‘We hate how this hunt is progressing.’_** Spider growled, and Takumi agreed completely.

_“Not being able to tackle the corners at the same speed at the car in front of me is really something I’m finding I dislike!”_

_**‘He gains more and more ground with each corner.’**_ Spider continued to stew. _**‘We hate it!’**_

~0~

**“Keisuke?”** Kenta spoke up. **“I still don’t get it, what you said to me earlier.”**

“How much does that 86 weigh?”

**“Uh… around nine-sixty or so, I believe.”**

“Correct, it’s less than a ton. But that little Cappuccino weighs even less, probably around seven hundred or more kilograms.” Kenta made a sound of comprehension. “That’s a difference of at most two hundred and fifty kilograms. You know that the difficulty in controlling a car is relative to its weight, right? You’re shackled down by the car’s inertial mass.”

**“So,”** Kenta’s face scrunched a little. **“That two-fifty odd kilogram difference gives the Cappuccino the advantage?”**

“Right.” Keisuke’s face scrunched as well, obviously he didn’t like what he was saying. “No amount of tuning can beat light weight.”

**“B-But, if that’s the case, then this race-”**

“Kenta! Don’t assume the outcome of a race before it’s happened! Don’t make me say it again!” Kenta’s jaw snapped shut as Keisuke looked away. “Takumi can’t be measured by normal standards. Never try to assume he can be.”

~0~

_“Will you lead, or follow?”_

_“When it’s raining, going first and having to set the pace adds pressure. Despite that, I want to lead. I don’t specialize in following, as with other Ferrari racers. I don’t wanna drag this race out. I want to end this within the first lap.”_

_“Understood, I completely agree. We’ll lead, then.”_

Sakamoto’s hands gripped the wheel just a little harder as he raced, his brow twitching slightly. His mind was racing as he worked to ignore the building pressure on the back of his neck.

_‘In the friction ration for the contact surface between the road and tires, a lower MU value will greatly affect whether one under or overshoots when cornering. It’s perfectly alright for the car to consistently remain neutral, but a car like that just doesn’t exist.’_ he tensed slightly before forcing himself to relax a little. _‘So, rather than go into an uncontrollable understeer, one should seek to create a controllable oversteer. That is how I do things! In the world of Ferrari racing, four wheel drift is fundamental!’_ he cleared a corner and kicked up a wall of water as he entered the straight, his eyes glancing into the rearview as his opponent. _‘Still, he’s done a good job keeping up. Even at points where it looks like I can shake him off, I find myself unable to.’_ his attention focused back on the road, his eyes catching the rain on his hood, and he grimaced.

He hated this kind of situation.

“Rain takes getting used to.” he muttered in agitation. “But this is scary, even for me. I can’t exactly know how to best merge to safely avoid crashing, no one knows.” he glanced back at his opponent. “That is what makes him scary too. He knows that it’s more dangerous for him than me, yet he keeps coming after me like he is.” he exhaled, amusement crossing his face vaguely. “Well, you can go ahead and keep walking that razor’s edge until the very end!”

~0~

The two were silent as they stood side by side, Matsumoto finding the sound of rain comforting.

**“... You know, for this race…” **Ryousuke began, catching his attention.** “I was only yesterday that I received any information regarding what tactics our opponents would use. If I’m honest, I thought that perhaps we’d be in trouble.”** he was silent for a moment. **“This mistake is squarely on my shoulders.”**

“Mistake?” Matsumoto echoed incredulously. “Even you make mistakes?” Ryousuke chuckled at the jab.

**“Frequently. I always manage to bluff my way through it, but I’m in pins and needles on the inside while doing so.”** he shifted his umbrella back and looked to the sky, hardly blinking as a drop of water fell from the umbrella onto his cheek. **“This time, however, luck is on my side. An uncertainty that no one could have calculated may cancel out my mistake.”**

“An uncertainty?” Matsumoto rose a brow, his ears shifting.

**“The rain itself.”**

“So, will the rain give Takumi an advantage or something?” Matsumoto shifted. “That goes against popular theory.” that caught Ryousuke’s attention a little, for he turned his head towards the kitsune. “Rain reduces the MU of the road’s surface, and if the tires’ grip weakens uncontrollably, a major handicap will become even greater. I think that’s the standard conclusion.”

**“You’re overlooking something.”** Ryousuke responded.** “That particular theory holds true for a midday race at someplace like a circuit. Nighttime on a rainy mountain pass is a different story. In these conditions, the emphasis shifted from the car to the driver, calling the X factor, or ability beyond that of mere driving techniques, into play.”**

“X factor?”

**“Therein lies our chance. So maybe, just maybe, this rain will set that hurdle I thought too high to just the right height, and that is the uncertainty of which I spoke. Perhaps this rain was brought about by that uncanny luck Takumi seems to possess.”**

~0~

_“I don’t understand what Ryousuke meant by his advice.” Takumi was sweating. “The methods of Emperor’s leader? What were they again?”_

**_‘Focus on the road while we try to recall.’_ **Spider commented quickly enough, and Takumi nodded.

_“Right… Ryousuke said to catch up on the straights, but I’m finding that to be impossible!”_ both Spider and Takumi loathed the feeling of panic and confusion they were experiencing. Neither knew what to do, and it showed. _“There isn’t any way to beat an opponent you can’t even catch up to, at least not that I know of!”_ despite this, he continued on, pushing hard on the straightaways. Then he noticed it, his pupils contracting._ “I can close the bap of but on the latter half of the straightaways. Does that mean I have an advantage on at least the extended straights? Outsiders, this really is a first, huh?”_

** _‘Winning in power but losing at cornering, it’s sorta pitiful.’_ **

_“Oh that really helps!”_ Takumi snapped sarcastically. _“All this is stressing me out. To think, having no choice but to battle it out on a mountain downhill straightaway!”_ the next corner came and Takumi growled at his opponent’s movements. _“He moves so damn effortlessly… I’m getting more and more ticked off. Whatever it takes, I wanna catch up and pressure him mercilessly!”_

**_‘OH!’_ **Spider suddenly yelled, before sharing his findings with Takumi.

_“Would that be what Ryousuke meant?”_ he muttered in response as they cleared a corner, Takumi catching sight of onlookers as he forcibly ignored them. _“He had to have meant Sudou’s specialty technique, I have no doubt in my mind about that!”_ he floored it, making to catch up. _“I’m going to have to close the gap if I want to pull it off. Just you watch, I’ll catch up!”_

~0~

Nobuhiko watched as one of Project D’s van turned on, remaining motionless but obviously running.

“Right, thanks.” there was a beep, and the spider turned to look at his teammate. “They’ve just passed the road cut hairpin. There’s a ten to fifteen meter gap between them.” Nobuhiko’s eyes narrowed at that and he turned back to the van in time to see it drive off.

_‘I don’t get it.’_ he thought to himself as he adjusted his position. _‘The 86 being able to keep up with the Cappuccino this far is most unusual.’_ there was a sudden, large gust of wind, nearly taking the umbrella from him as his limbs latched onto any part of it they could to keep a hold of it._ ‘In my simulations, this event was in impossibility. Was the rain not to our advantage after all? If the race can’t be settled at the steeply inclined section, the gentle incline of the mid to high-speed section in the latter half shall be particularly worrisome.’_ there was silence, both in his head and out of it.

_“I miscalculated.”_ he muttered, much to the shock of his teammate._ “It would seem that the capabilities of the 86’s driver can’t be calculated. They’ve upset what was thought to be a one hundred percent probability of victory.”_

~0~

_“I understand it, what the 86 is trying to tell me. The sensation of the tires slipping as they grip wet asphalt… it’s almost palpable! With this car, I feel as though I can tell how much rain is flowing on the asphalt.”_ Takumi bared his teeth in a savage grin. _“I can definitely catch up! I have, at most, only two chances to set up a counter attack.”_

**_‘We may have floundered the start of this hunt, but now it’s twisted into our favor!’_** Spider crowed, and Takumi chuckled a little.

_“Maybe, maybe not.”_

~0~

“Something about all this has me anxious, Ryousuke.” Matsumoto began as he drove, causing Ryousuke to look at him. “The first thing that comes to mind about Sudou from Emperor is a counterattack.”

**“True.”**

“I’m worried about what sort of judgement Takumi’ll make with his mind so confused, because a counterattack would be a mistake.”

**“Then, true to form, you understand. A counterattack is one hundred percent doomed to failure. I can only hope that, if Takumi does come to the conclusion of using a counterattack, he recovers quickly when it fails.”**

~0~

“He’s gaining on me!” Sakamoto exclaimed as he cleared corners, the 86 managing to keep up with him a little even there. “Not even Wataru’s 86 could keep up with this car. I don’t get it, how can he be this fast in the rain!? Even I’m struggling, searching for grip on front tires that can’t be relied upon! I can’t do any more than this! This is absolutely terrifying! This isn’t logic, it’s instinct, and I’m not even sure I can beat instinct!” he swore, trying to get away but failing.

It was nearly infuriating.

“Dammit! Just what the hell are you, other than a Jorōgumo!? Ugh, I’m starting to feel sick.” he vaguely lurched, trying to keep his focus on the road and not on his opponent. “He keeps gaining on me… what does this mean!?

~0~

_“This rain sure is horrible.”_ Wataru commented from inside his car. _“Even an F1 racer with godlike technique would spin out in the rain and fly right out of the course.”_ he leaned back against his seat, his eyes locked on the figures of Project D a little ways ahead of him. _“That’s how difficult the rain is. How it falls can change each and every racing condition, and there’s no telling when it’ll stop. One mistake on this narrow road, and boom, it’s all over. Even so, you have to pull yourself together and go on the offensive, or you’ll lose. It’s a continuous battle between fear and motivation, especially on the downhill. It takes ten times more out of you than a normal race.”_ he turned his gaze to look at his sister, who was merely staring at him blankly. He chuckled, then turned his gaze back to Project D.

~0~

“There’s something about this that I just can’t accept.” Keisuke said firmly. “This ‘shame and reputation be damned, I came to win!’ attitude really pisses me off.”

“On the downhill, being light is an incredible weapon.” Fumihiro responded.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t stand losing to these guys!” Keisuke’s expression was both worried and hostile. “If we lose, I’m attacking Takumi. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

“Y’know, that’s just like you, Keisuke.” Fumihiro commented. “But, maybe you shouldn’t. You forget that your sweet and soft spoken mate is still a very dangerous creature in his own right.” Keisuke rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. “Anyway, there’s no mistaking that we’re in a tight position. I can only hope there’s a good reason for why Ryousuke wished for this rain. If we can make it to the midpoint, there may be hope. If Takumi makes it to the bottom, the roads aren’t too steep and there are long, straight lines.” Keisuke visibly wilted.

“That’s ironic of you to say, isn’t it?”

“Completely.” Fumihiro looked put out at that. “The downward slope has been the only thing in his favor as Takumi’s gone up against some powerful enemies, but this time it’s far from being his friend. That slope’s gonna put him through the wringer.”

~0~

“Does this guy not feel any fear!? When you’re that close to your opponent, the shower of water droplets obstructs your headlights! I hate that, and that’s the main reason why I chose to race in front! Driving in the night rain is bad enough, but with the spray of water I’m sending up his field of vision should be hopelessly obstructed, and yet…!” it seemed that it either wasn’t, or his opponent just didn’t care.

Either way, he was practically touching his bumper now.

“I can’t believe he’s pushed his car right up on mine! I don’t get it, he should be completely unable to see from that side ditch, so how can he keep up with me so precisely!?” he grit his teeth, before exhaling heavily. “Okay, I have to relax! Calm down, think rationally. If I lose my cool and my rhythm gets thrown off, it could be deadly. Now, let’s think. He’s on my tail, and I can’t shake him. I just need to switch strategies to one where I can’t lose!”

~0~

**“Do you remember the blind attack Takumi used against Toudou School?”**

“Yeah.” Matsumoto responded faintly. “There’s no way to forget something like that. Turning off the headlights and racing a mountain pass in the dark…”

**“Takumi is currently being supported by the same manner of technique and ability.”**

“Ah?”

**“Even when there’s inadequate visual information, Takumi seems to be able to supplement that with the image that appears in his mind. When it comes to this ability, Takumi is quite outstanding. He’s instantly able to gauge top speed, and can unerringly race road surfaces devoid of markers. And he does this all because of his mental image. That could be the source of what supports Takumi’s genius-like technique.”**

~0~

“I’ve had a bad feeling since earlier.” Sakamoto commented as a bead of sweat ran down his face. “A sensation like he’s planning something is pelting me in waves.” he narrowed his eyes. “But on this narrow course, and in the rain… just what the hell could he possibly be thinking?” he sneered and let out a scoff. “Quit screwing around! Don’t go planning something reckless! You just stay there and behave!”

He jinxed himself with those words.

It was near instant. They both entered the corner, and the 86 was suddenly beside him, leapfrogging into place without warning. His sneer turned into a silent snarl as his pupils contracted.

“Damn it, I told you to quit screwing around!” he turned the wheel a slight bit early, drifting into the corner and forcing the 86 to return to its position behind him.

_“That was informative.”_ Takumi commented as he continued on, leaning forward slightly. _“I may not have succeeded there, but I’ll try once more! Somewhere at these consecutive corners, my second chance will show itself.”_

_**‘This next time is our last chance.’** _Spider spoke up.

_“Right, and if Ryousuke says I can do it, then I can damn well do it!”_ true to his words, at one of the next corners, Takumi pulled in beside the Cappuccino once more, Spider clicking the loudest he’s ever heard in his head as he came closer… closer…

And he pulled into the lead, but went too wide and hopped the curb, jumping the ditch and slowing as he tried to pulled back onto the road, allowing the Cappuccino to retake the lead before he could recover.

_“Damn! I managed to do it, but that mistake set me a little further back! Counterattacks are off the table!”_

**_‘Back to square one.’_ **Spider clicked angrily.

~0~

**“My advice may have been a little difficult to understand.”** Ryousuke commented as he shut his phone and pocketed it. **“But the fact that Takumi is currently able to keep pace with the Cappuccino means that while he’s not really comprehending my words, he’s got the gist of it, and has put it into play.”**

“Right, but will he be all right?”

**“If he could keep up before now, he’ll be fine. The sections before now were the most difficult, in my opinion.”**

“And he springs the trap-”

**“Mm. Right at the very end. He’ll pull ahead at the place where the enemy’s greatest weapon ceases to be effective. That’s where Kyouichi would strike.”**

“Because it’s the safest, and most certain way to pull ahead.” Ryousuke quirked a smile, looking doubtful.

**“But will the enemy fall for that safest, most certain way? That is the greatest problem Takumi will face.”**

~0~

“OH! OH! Here they come!” Itsuki exclaimed, stumbling into the road excitedly and letting out a small choked sound of surprise as Iketani dragged him back to the side.

“Stay out of the road, you might get hit!” Iketani yelled just as the two cars flew around the corner. Closer and closer they came, when the lights on the 86 went out. They all made a sound of shock.

“What’s going on!?” Kenji yelled. “Where’d the 86 go!?”

“Takumi’s 86 is gone…” Itsuki exclaimed, before his eyes caught a small flash, a gleam of red reflected off two shiny surfaces. “No, he’s still there!” as the cars grew closer, the 86’s front suddenly began peeking into the Cappuccino’s headlights, it’s own flipping back up as the two passed, Iketani tugging Itsuki closer towards him to keep him out of the road, the cars splashing the three as the 86 took the lead.

~0~

**“Didn’t I say you’d need a completely different mindset?”** Ryousuke smiled easily at Takumi. **“The job of a driver is to draw out a car’s latent potential to it’s very limits, that’s what it all boils down to. Beyond going fast, if there’s one key in beating an opponent’s car, it’s to turn this sentiment into a weapon, and attack. This way of thought is what I wanted you to experience in today’s race.”** Takumi’s pedipalps shifted agitatedly as Spider clicked.** “Telling you to recall Kyouichi’s methods meant not just his technique, but also the meaning of this psychology. Until the halfway point, this race was decided, for the most part. Good work sticking to him and not getting thrown off. You did wonderfully, Takumi. You get to relax now that your part is done.” **as Ryousuke began to walk towards the van he put a hand in his pocket.** “The time trial has been cancelled.”**

“Well… that turned out well, huh?” Matsumoto asked softly as he and Takumi watched Ryousuke walk off.

_“Wh… was that praise?”_ Takumi asked, looking a little wide eyed, and Matsumoto laughed uproariously.

“From Ryousuke? Absolutely.” he finally answered, and Takumi was silent for a moment.

_“If I’m honest, I only sort of accept it. Did… did I really do well in passing him like that? Right up until that point, I’d been really lost. I’d hesitated, thought about riding it out until the second race.”_

“It’s a damn good thing you didn’t.” Matsumoto responded. “Ryousuke would have been outraged.” Takumi recoiled, looking alarmed.

_“Really?”_

“Of course! I listened to him go on about it. There’s no guarantee that conditions would’ve stayed the same for the second race, you know. Never forget that half the help you got was from the rain itself. Had the rain stopped, it would have been impossible for you to keep up with that tiny little car.”

_“Mmmm. If you put it like that, I guess you’re right.”_

“If you’d been racing on your own, you’d be free to choose whichever you like, but as of now you are a representative of D. Please, don’t forget that.” Takumi’s expression lightened, and Matsumoto felt relief run down his spine, before he glanced over to the opponents. “Now that this is all over, how good is your hearing?”

_“Uh… a better than a human’s, but nowhere near as good as yours. Why?”_

“I’m gonna partake in my favorite pastime, and was going to ask you to join.” Takumi laughed awkwardly at that, before retreating back to the vans, saying something about getting a snack. He chuckled, before he closed his eyes and focused on his hearing.

_“... believe it!”_ he picked up Wataru’s voice over the rain. _“How did you lose in these kinds of conditions? What happened, Sakamoto!?”_

“Don’t yell at me, spider boy!” Sakamoto snapped. “I don’t know what happened! He just suddenly vanished into thin air right before the goal.”

_“A blind spot?”_ Nobuhiko asked.

“If that were the case, I’d’ve noticed before he pulled alongside me! I barely had time to make a sound before he was right there!”

_“Whoa there, what are you on about? You’re sounding like an amateur!”_

“Say what you like, but when I don’t get it, I don’t get it! You don’t realize that this has shocked me the most!”

_“He has a point, Wataru, lay off.”_

“Neither of you could beat that 86 either, right? Ugh, I’ve had enough of this mess. I’ve lost all my confidence. This doesn’t seem to be something I’ll be recovering from for a while.” Matsumoto cracked an eye to glance at them and noticed them all looking in this direction. “There’s something different about that kid. He’s an incredible driver.” they turned back away, and Matsumoto turned his attention back towards Takumi as he came back over.

Eavesdropping has its perks, he wondered how Takumi would react to hearing praise from the rival team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Am. So. Close. To. My. DRAMA! Just two chapters away.
> 
> Edited: 2/5/20


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author wrote TWO chapters so you get two today.

“I’m going to admit, Takumi, crazy as it was, that blind attack in the middle of these conditions was brilliant!” Matsumoto said pleasantly, chuckling when Takumi’s face flushed red a little. “The rain had already cut down on visibility, so your trick likely made your opponent feel like you’d really disappeared on him. That tactic’s a powerful weapon, just as Ryousuke has said.”

_“I-I mean, I guess?”_ Takumi glanced at the kitsune. _“I don’t really want to use it all too much, though. I’d start enjoying it too much otherwise.”_

“You?” Matsumoto asked with a perplexed look on his face. “Enjoy it too much?”

_“Mmm. It’d become instinct, and happen often. If an opponent doesn’t open up any road, I’d turn to it reflexively. Oh, or if I got angry…”_

“AND IT’S THE STAR OF THE SHOW!” Itsuki’s voice picked up behind him, causing Matsumoto to puff up in alarm as Takumi smiled indulgently. “Oi! Takumi!”

_“Hello, Itsuki.”_ Takumi waved passively. _“Same to both Iketani and Kenji.”_

“You really gave us a shock a little bit ago!” Iketani commented, and Itsuki nodded excitedly.

“Yeah! You completely vanished, I couldn’t see what you were doing at all!”

“It was awesome!” Kenji cut in, and Takumi chuckled a little, flushing an even deeper red.

_“I-I-”_ he was cut off by Itsuki setting a hand on his shoulder, a vaguely spooked look on his face.

“You almost hit us with your car, you dumb spider, but I’ll admit it was worth it.” he continuously pat Takumi’s shoulder.

_“Ah… at least this isn’t causing a scene.”_ he groaned, before he heard Wataru’s car start up. Itsuki turned curiously, his eyes widening.

“Hey, isn’t that Wataru’s Levin?” he asked, and Takumi confirmed with a hum.

_“I’m a little surprised you just now noticed he was here.”_ Takumi commented. _“He’s representing the other team on the hillclimb.”_ Itsuki stumbled oddly, falling backwards as Iketani reached a hand forward to push him back upright.

“What!?” he exclaimed excitedly as he leaned towards Takumi, causing the spider to recoil a little. “What does that mean!? No, don’t tell me!” he turned to look back at the Levin, and froze.

**_‘Oh. Shit.’_** Spider commented, and Takumi sighed.

“... Kazumi’s here?” Itsuki muttered, remaining frozen, and Iketani began waving a hand in his face.

“Itsuki? Hello in there?” he asked, and Itsuki pushed Iketani’s hand away, startling the wolf enough for him to fall off balance as he hurried off towards the other team. Iketani flailed a little before going down completely, Kenji moving to the side to let it happen with a bemused look on his face.

“Kazumi!” Itsuki exclaimed excitedly, catching the female spider’s attention.

_“... Itsuki!?”_ she exclaimed in surprise, before moving to meet him halfway. Iketani growled a little as he picked himself up.

“Thanks for the help, Kenji.” he snapped, and Kanji saluted.

“No problem.” Takumi rolled his eyes at everything happening, shooting Matsumoto an exasperated glance, much to the kitsune’s amusement, before a flash of red caught his gaze and he turned in time to see Keisuke peering curiously over Wataru as the spider opened the hood and propped it. Surprise crossed his mate’s face and he started his way over.

“... changed it to a supercharger?” he heard Keisuke ask.

_“Yeah.”_ Wataru responded neutrally. _“After losing to Takumi last fall, I started feeling dissatisfied with how my turbo was set up. I’d just finished putting the engine together, and after thinking through a couple of options, this is what I came up with.”_ Takumi came up beside Keisuke, tilting his head curiously. Wataru nodded at him in greeting as Keisuke brushed fingers with him for a moment. _“The supercharger’s direct response is, if anything, close to NA. It doesn’t have any turbo quirks, and it feels like I’ve put in a large volume engine. I think this’ll work wonders on a course like this one.”_ Wataru smirked and locked eyes with Keisuke, prompting him to tense a little at the challenge being directed at him. _“So you remember that, oni boy, as you give it your all.”_ Keisuke bore a fang.

“Gladly.” he responded. “I’m gonna show you just what having turbo’s all about!”

“Alright!” Fumihiro yelled, catching everyone’s attention. “Line up your cars! The Levin is in front!”

_“Good luck.”_ Takumi said to Keisuke, just as the oni passed him Nejibana. He smiled at his mate and watched as he retreated back over to Matsumoto, before heading over to his FD to get his part of the night started.

**“Keisuke.”** Ryousuke began as he pulled into place, catching the oni’s attention. **“Your task has been set since last week. You understand what I’m getting at, right? Tonight’s road surface conditions are perfect for measuring its effectiveness.”**

“I got it, aniki!” Keisuke responded peppily. Ryousuke nodded at him and walked off, allowing him to roll up his window to prevent the inside from getting any wetter. He adjusted his rearview mirror, catching sight of Takumi in it, the spider using two of his limbs to hold the umbrella as he watched the FD intently. Nejibana appeared on his shoulder and gave a shutter, staring at the FD as well. Keisuke turned his attention back to the Levin in front, taking notice of Fumihiro in front with his arm up, counting down. He glanced back at the rearview and noticed Takumi was now talking with Nejibana, her bobbing showing that to be the case. He tore his gaze away and back to the road once more.

“GO!”

~0~

“Whoa!” Takumi heard Itsuki exclaim from nearby. “For it to be a match for the FD in a starting dash, Wataru must have really done some work on that thing! I installed a turbo in my Levin, like I remember Wataru’s own having, but that wasn’t turbo at all!”

_“Aniki rebuilt his Levin.”_ Kazumi responded to Itsuki’s excitement. _“Instead of turbo, it now has a supercharger.”_

“A supercharger?”

_“Mmm. He ended up blowing out his old engine. He loathed losing to your friend, Itsuki. He pushed himself and his Levin hard when it came to racing.”_

“Really? Well, even with that knowledge, a supercharger is a bit unexpected.”

_“Well, he said it suits a car like the 86.”_

“Ah?”

_“Aniki’s very satisfied with it, said that his racing power has improved over his old turbo.”_

_“They seem close, Master.”_ Nejibana commented, and Takumi hummed worriedly.

_“Yeah, they do. I hope he knows what he’s doing, getting involved with a female Jorōgumo as he is…”_

_“Do you not like this?”_

_“It’s more that I’m worried for him, Bana. It’s Spider who doesn’t like their interactions.”_

** _‘They are not meant to be. She is not good for, nor good enough for, the human.’_ **

_‘You still haven’t told me why you think that.’_ Spider fell silent, and Takumi sighed.

“... doesn’t pay much, but working at the station every day, covered in grease, sure is fun!” Itsuki’s voice caught his attention once more. “Because I always get to be around cars, not to mention it’s always fun to talk with Iketani and Yuichi.”

_“You know, Itsuki, you seem to have grown up since we last spoke.”_ Takumi chanced a glance at them in time to catch her expression, Spider clicking at the sight. _“Being a full-time worker seems to have calmed you down quite a bit.”_ Itsuki laughed at her words.

“I don’t think I’ve changed one bit. I’m still the loud, excitable guy I was back then, I’m just reigning it in for Takumi’s sake, he doesn’t like it when someone causes a scene because he’s usually always dragged into it.” there was a small swath of silence. “I think it’s you that’s the more grown-up one here, Kazumi. You’re more different than I remember you being.”

_“I don’t think I’ve changed at all. Well, that’s something I guess we have in common, neither of us think we’ve changed.”_ they both laughed, and Takumi let out a sigh.

How does Matsumoto find eavesdropping to be fun?

_“So, anyway, I got my licence.”_

“Really? Is it automatic only or something?”

_“Nope, manual! I could even drive aniki’s Levin if I wanted. Though, I don’t really like driving it. I did once, the wheel’s very heavy, driving it is a lot of work.”_

“Why don’t you buy a car, then?”

_“I spent all my money on driving school, so I won’t be getting a car anytime soon. I’ll be working hard until I’ve saved enough for a down payment.”_

“Ah, that’s just how it is sometimes.”

_“Enough about me, you said you installed turbo in your Levin?”_

“Ah! Yeah! She’s so fast now! The day I race against Iketani is fast approaching!”

_“Wow! It’s like you’re a real racer now!”_

“I guess.” he chortled. “If you’re curious we could set up a day to go hang out and drive around, for old times sake!”

“Oi, Takumi.” Iketani hissed in his ear, making him jump.

_“Huh?”_ he turned to look at Iketani, raising his brows at the right of Iketani’s vaguely hostile expression directed at Kazumi.

“What’s going on with Itsuki?” he growled. “Blowing us off to go have a chat with that girl. Do something about it!”

_“Uh… well, there’s not much I can-”_

“Oh, look at their expressions.” Kenji commented unhelpfully from Iketani’s side. “They look like they’re having fun! I wonder what they’re talking about!”

“Takumi-”

_“Look, Iketani, I didn’t know Wataru would be here until I’d arrived, so I’m in the same boat as you. I can’t do anything about it.”_

“For her to show up with him when _Itsuki_, of all humans, has to be here…”

“Quite the coincidence, huh?” Takumi looked at Kenji. “It’s like a soap opera or something!” Iketani stood for a moment, before visibly wilting, causing Kenji to pat his shoulder. “There there, Iketani. You’ll be fine.” as Kenji comforted his friend, footsteps caused Takumi to turn in time to see Sakamoto stop behind him.

“I have something I’d like to talk with you about, would you mind?” Takumi tilted his head curiously. 

~0~

_“Just like I had hoped from the beginning, this race will be drawn out.”_ Wataru commented, sweating profusely. _“He’s done a good job of keeping up with me so far, I should know, seeing as I originally had turbo.”_ he winced.

Turbo is a piece of work in the right conditions.

“Driving a high-powered turbo on wet roads is challenging. He may be my enemy, but that bastard’s got great skill, I’ll give him that.” Wataru narrowed his eyes. “But I’m not about to lose to some oni!”

~0~

“Could I ask you something?” Sakamoto asked as they stopped near the vans.

_“Is this about my trick?”_

“No, not really. See, I’m a Ferrari driver. We’re not very good at playing chase, like… the whole tactical thing, passing and being passed, I’ve never really been interested in that. What I would like to know is where the hell you get your strong sense of motivation. Where’s it come from?”

_“Huh?”_

“I felt it very clearly during our race. You have very strong emotions, you see.” Takumi tilted his head further at that. “At the very least, when it comes to car performance, mine should have an advantage. I don’t think there’s really that much difference in our driving techniques. It’s strange, you just seem like a regular guy, even if you are a spider, but you shrugged off the rain like it was nothing. That’s intense motivation. Just where the hell do you get it?” Takumi remained silent for a moment, Nejibana bobbing on his shoulder and peering at the human beside him curiously. “Anyone who says he isn’t afraid of the rain is a rank amateur. Rain wears away at your nerves, sustaining concentration for a long period of time takes extraordinary willpower and stamina, and that’s what I believe motivation consists of. That’s what I meant when I said you have strong emotions.”

_“Mmhmm.”_ Takumi hummed, showing he was listening as Nejibana decided she was going to hop onto Sakamoto, only for her master to stop her before she could even start.

“Talking from my own experience, that degree of emotional strength isn’t possible without a strong sense of purpose. In all honesty, you drive sort of like a pro.

_“Like a pro? Really?”_

“I’m not one to lie.” there was a short period of silence.

_“I’m still unsure of what exactly you mean.”_ Takumi finally spoke up. _“I always feel that I want to improve, and honestly, I think the other members of Project D are much more ‘like a pro’ than I’ll ever be.”_ Sakamoto widened his eyes at Takumi’s tone. _“Because of that, I just race as hard as I possibly can, and try not to drag them down.”_

“Is that so? Then it’s your environment.” there was silence. “Just how old are you?”

_“Nineteen human years.”_

“Nineteen!? Gods, I’ll be twenty six here soon. Y’know, if I’d had your technique when I was nineteen, I think my life would’ve been quite a lot different. Ough, I’m jealous of you. If I’d just put in the extra effort, I’d be in an environment where I could race as fast as I’d like.” Sakamoto looked at Takumi. “I’ve been in something of a slump recently. I wanted to ask you about this in case I could pick up any hints. Sorry to bother you with it.” and with that, he walked off, leaving Takumi alone with his familiar and his thoughts.

~0~

“So he’s keeping up after all, huh?” Keisuke thought as he looked in his rearview. They had come to the end and turned, Keisuke leading for the second run. “Well, it’s only to be expected, with the MUs this low, I can only run my engine at half strength. My FD isn’t in its element unless it’s in a high-speed race.” his lip twitched upwards. “Old me would have blown his top over all this, but that accelerator training I’ve been doing recently is really coming in handy.” he shifted his feet in a faux demonstration.

Handy indeed.

“I can wait it out. My chance will definitely come! If he could win, then I can too!”

~0~

“The race seems to have deadlocked.” Fumihiro commented. “Having to draw it out like this works against Keisuke.”

**“In these conditions, Keisuke should have no anxiety regarding the car’s mechanics.”**

“All of the pressure is on the driver, then? Wears down on the nerves.” Ryousuke let out an amused sound.

**“I wonder how long Keisuke can sustain his concentration.”**

“You know, Ryousuke, you seem to enjoy tormenting Keisuke.”

**“It’s not that I’m tormenting him, Fumihiro. He’ll never get a better chance than this to fully master the task he’s been undertaking. I’ll have him race long and leisurely.”**

“Yeah, I guess you have a point.”

**“Techniques that don’t come alive during actual, pressure-filled raced are meaningless.”**

“That just means that Keisuke’s got it rough. No surprise there.”

~0~

Keisuke tisked, his eyes darting between the rearview and the road.

“Damn, the bastard’s still right on my tail. It was very clever of him to use a supercharger. Even though we have the same air pressure setup for our turbines, his also gets power directly from the crankshaft.” he growled softly. “He’s smart.”

  
~0~

“A third race?” Kenji asked, sounding bewildered. “So cool. Neither of them can seem to clinch it. That means they’re evenly matched, right?”

_“It’s only because of the rain that it’s like this.”_ Takumi commented sternly, catching their attention. Takumi pulled the leather jacket closer to himself, having gotten it from his 86 because the night air was beginning to cut through his sweater. _“It forces the rear car to keep pace with the lead. If they raced separately, you’d see a clear difference in their times.”_ as he spoke the two racers were released, and they sped down the road. _“But with these rules, sometimes the cars just pull one another along like magnets.”_

“I bet they’re both exhausted by now.” Iketani commented.

_“Likely, but they’re still concentrating. It’s only when you realize that you’re tired that you figure out that you’ve lost concentration. That, in and of itself, is very dangerous. It’s why the moment that decides the race is disappointingly short.”_

~0~

“This race has turned pretty incredible, huh?”

_“Yeah, they just keep racing in this weather without any breaks.”_

“Your aniki’s a pretty cool guy, Kazumi. Even on a hillclimb, he isn’t losing an inch to Keisuke’s FD! I really admire his skill.”

_“You admire aniki?”_ Kazumi asked, sounding completely baffled by the concept. _“You really shouldn’t. Just what’s so great about **Wataru** of all creatures?”_

“A lot! He’s cool, he’s very serious about cars, and the way he insisted he used a Levin of all cars instead of some new vehicle is totally the coolest!”

_“He didn’t insist on using a Levin, we just don’t have the money to afford anything better.”_ Itsuki laughed at her words, oblivious to the look of utter jealousy being shot in his and Kazumi's direction by Iketani.

~0~

“The Levin has begun moving weirdly.” Keisuke commented. “He must be more tired than I am. Is now the time for me to make my move? Oh,  
I’ll make a move alright, I’m gonna pressure him as much as I possibly can!”

Wataru scoffed as Keisuke drew ever so slightly closer.

_“Trying to ramp up the pressure, eh? Bad luck for you that I’m not falling for it! You have to be suffering through this just as I am, there’s no way I’m the only one! Let’s see who can last longer!”_ he couldn't help but chuckle shakily._“Though, I’m really starting to feel like he’s on my tail. __I wonder why… if it’s because I’m tired and my pace has dropped, that’s bad. I’ve gotta floor it!”_

Keisuke felt sweat pouring down his face, his eyes shaking as he forced himself to focus. The 86 in front of him suddenly activated his brake lights, causing him to choke as he slammed on his own brakes and prevented a crash.

“Shit, this is bad. It’s getting to the point where I can’t control it.” he narrowed his eyes. “Does this mean I’ve almost lost my ability to concentrate?”

~0~

**“Most beings can’t sustain intense concentration for long.”** Ryousuke commented. **“Especially when pushed to the very limit, which is usually about thirty minutes at the maximum.”**

“I agree with you there, but, pro racers have to keep going for upwards of two to three hours, right?” Fumihiro asked.

**“In their case, while it might be a race, it’s not as if they’re going at it at one hundred percent. On the circuit, there are always long straightaways where one can relax.”**

“So, in that sense, there’s no place to relax on a winding public road.”

**“Especially in the rain, when there is little visibility and the roads are slippery. You can’t let your guard down at all, not even for a second.”**

“Scary… what exactly happens when your concentration breaks?”

**“Your senses dull. Your reflexes slow. The smallest things begin causing stress. You become unable to multitask, and when the end comes, it’s disappointingly fast.”** as he finished talking, the rain suddenly picked up in intensity, causing Fumihiro to flinch visibly.

“Oh dear…”

~0~

_“DAMN IT! I CAN’T SEE!”_ Wataru exclaimed, trying hard to peer through the windshield. _“Gah! There should be a mid-speed section up ahead that veers sharply to the left, knowing that, I can…”_ one of his left limbs moved towards the windshield wiper controls, and just as he turned the knob up, the 86 passed over a grate he’d forgotten was there, causing him to jerk violently and spin out, the FD passing him as he came to a stop. He sat there, panting, before he smacked the wheel with a couple limbs, swearing profusely.

How embarrassing.

He remained in the car for a little longer, before getting out in the pouring rain, catching sight of Keisuke standing nearby, watching him.

“You alright?” Keisuke asked, and Wataru nodded.

_“Yeah, stopped just short of the concrete wall.”_

“Ah, good. You spun out at a good angle there.”

_“It’s a talent.”_ Wataru sighed. _“This will definitely sound like an excuse, but, I know where all the gutters on this course are, and I can tell you how many of them there are as well. But, I had forgotten about this particular one, in my effort to turn up my windshield wipers. Spun right out. I definitely wasn’t thinking straight at all. Even I can’t believe it. I guess that’s what it’s like to have your concentration broken.”_

~0~

“I’m starting to wonder if there’s anyone out there who can beat Takumi!” Iketani exclaimed.

“Just what are you on about, pup?” Yuichi responded. “It’s a big world out there! No matter where you go, there’s always someone better.”

“But, Takumi’s always improving! It’s amazing, isn't it, Kenji?”

“Yeah! He’s come so far so quickly since joining Project D. Kinda makes me miss the old Takumi, the one who knew nothing about cars and used to space out all the time.”

“Mmm. Last night, standing off a bit to the side and watching Takumi talk with Ryousuke Takahashi, of all people, like they were old friends made me a little sad. Like he’s become someone so far away from us.” Yuichi smiled, looking a little amused.

“That’s just all in your head, right? Seems to me that he’s still close at hand.” he motioned behind them, causing them to turn in time to see Takumi pull into the lot in the 86.

“Speak of the devil…” Kenji muttered as Takumi exited the vehicle, Nejibana hopping off his shoulder and scuttling over in their direction.

“On your way back from work, are you?” Yuichi called, picking up Nejibana and setting her on his shoulder. “Itsuki had the early shift, so he’s already gone.”

“I’m not here about that.” as he drew closer, they noticed that Takumi looked particularly tired, much more than usual, and his eyes gleamed sharply. “Did you know dad got a new car?”

“Yeah, it’s an Impreza, right?” Iketani and Kenji let out surprised sounds.

“Of course you knew.” Takumi glowered. “So you likely also know that he beat me with it on Akina and didn’t tell me it was him. I was getting ready to quit racing over that, you know.”

“What… Takumi-” Iketani cut himself off, eyes wide. Takumi began clicking a little, and Yuichi’s expression wasn’t a happy one.

“Did you at least get to drive the thing?”

“Of course, dad’s forcing me to use it for deliveries. ‘For Training’, he says. I have half a mind to mutiny.”

“Well, how was it?”

“I didn’t like it, that's for damn sure. Felt like being in a UFO.”

“The hell does that even mean?” Kenji asked.

“Up until now, I’d been driving without thinking, and now, it’s like I don’t even know how to drive the 86 anymore.”

“Hey now, what’s that mean!?” Iketani exclaimed. “I think you know how to drive your 86 better than anyone!”

“Right!”

“I don’t know how to put it other than that, except to say that I can still drive it and everything, but I’ve lost all of my self-confidence. Not that I’d had much of that to begin with.” the three others all locked eyes.

That, was very worrying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm done, Ngh.
> 
> Next chapter: drama
> 
> You will hate me.
> 
> Edited: 2/5/20


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you guys are going to hate the author because she kinds hates herself over this

“I’m sorry for making you drive all the way out here to Saitama, Itsuki.” Kazumi said as she slid into the booth with her drink.

“Don’t be!” Itsuki responded pleasantly as he slid in across from her. “Shibukawa is much closer to here than I’d first thought! Saitama and Gunma are practically neighbors! A trip and a half by train, sure, but close by if you take a car!”

“Really?” she sounded relieved. “Then I’m glad!”

“Don’t hesitate to call me if you need, I’m always free at night. If you need help I’ll be out here lickety-split!”

“You don’t have a mate or anything?” Kazumi asked, surprised, and Itsuki smiled at her.

“Of course I don’t.” he pointedly ignored the way that admission hurt as he chuckled. Kazumi leaned against her hand, her eyes softening as she watched Itsuki flounder about at the question, and something in Itsuki’s gut dropped at the expression.

He found that he didn’t really like it, coming from her. He paused at that discovery.

“So what about you?” he asked quickly., and she obviously didn’t expect it.

“Oh… uh… sadly no.” he tilted his head as she glanced away.

“Mm. I won’t pry.” he responded, shrugging, before grabbing one of the sweeteners as he began trying to open it.

“Huh?” she questioned. “I actually expected you to ask. Most guys usually can’t help but stick their nose in it.” Itsuki tensed as those words, tugging too harshly on the container and opening it with an audible pop, getting the contents all over his face. He let out a sound of distress and began trying to wipe his face off with a sleeve, hearing Kazumi scramble to get him some napkins. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it!”

“No, no!” he responded, taking the napkins and wiping his face with them. “I may have been particularly curious about why you never contacted me after we parted ways, but you obviously went through something and I have no right to ask about it if you don’t want to talk, and I get how guys can be, so it’s fine!”

“No, I hurt you with that accusation.”

“Am I that obvious?” he asked. “Right, dumb question. Everything I think always appears on my face.”

“I think that’s a good thing.” Kazumi said. “It means you can’t keep any hidden agendas. You’re an honest guy, it’s comfortable being around you.” Itsuki chuckled awkwardly.

“Ah, well, I’ve always been like this. I don’t really get it myself.”

~0~

“I’m still a little confused about the whole Takumi situation.” Kenji commented.

“Me too.” Iketani responded as he removed his hat. “With his skillset, you’d think that it wouldn’t be as hard for him to get as good at a four wheel drive as he has with rear-wheel.”

“Maybe he’s talking on a level that we just can’t understand?”

“That’s a possibility…”

~0~

“Hey, Kazumi, do you mind if we swung by that pass Takumi and Wataru raced at the other day? I wanna race that course in my own car.”

_“I don’t mind.”_ she responded. _“But it’s a very difficult course.”_

“I know! That’s half why I wanna try it out!” he bounced eagerly, quickly taking them to the course and began, taking the first corner easy before trying his hand at the next, forcing the car so shake a little. “Ah! Okay maybe a little slower! I’m not used to this amount of steering work! Jeez, I can’t tell where the lines are!” he slowed a little exiting the corner, before speeding back up as his turbo kicked in with a little squeal.

_“Ah! Sure enough, that’s turbo tuning!”_ Kazumi exclaimed as Itsuki came to the next corner, slowing only for the turbo to kick in needlessly and forcing the tires to slide. _“Ah, and the sudden boosts. This reminds me of how aniki’s Levin used to run.”_ Itsuki chuckled at her words.

After a while, they came to a stop, getting out near the top of the course to look out at the valleys.

“This place is so different from Akina.” Itsuki commented passively. “I couldn’t run it at all.”

_“Oh, you say that but I can tell that you’ve improved dramatically! I feel safe riding next to you.”_ Itsuki chuckled at the compliment, setting a hand on the back of his head.

“Ah, well, I’ve been practicing a lot! Turbo’s a quirky thing, so I have to practice!” he missed her giving him that soft look again, but his gut still flopped anyway as his mind raced. Kazumi was being oddly complementary and pushy today.

It was an hour later that they finished the runs Itsuki wanted to do, and decided to go eat out.

“... so this cousin of mine living in Higashi Matsuyama drives this silver Altezza and let me drive it once, it’s such an awesome car!” as Kazumi gushed, Itsuki noticed her phone light up in the corner of his eye.

“An Altezza, huh? Sure is.” Kazumi picked up her phone and looked at this display, her mouth thinning into a firm line before she put it in her pocket. “Aren’t you gonna answer that?”

“It’s not important, so no.” she looked angry, so Itsuki dropped it quickly. “So-”

“GODDAMNIT!” a loud, outraged voice yelled from the front, causing Itsuki and Kazumi to both peer out at what was happening. “How long’re you gonna keep us waitin’?! Move your ass, register boy!”

“O-Oh! I-I’m so sorry! We’re a little busy today! U-Uh, is this a joint bill or-”

“We’re payin’ separate!” the man snapped, and thankfully they were billed and out fairly quickly. Itsuki watched them drive off, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the vehicles they drove.

“Lan-Evos, huh…” he muttered, filing away that information to give Takumi later.

“Hey, Itsuki?”

“Hmm?” Kazumi leaned towards him with an excited look on her face.

“Would you let me drive your Levin a little bit?” she asked. “I have a licence but no car, so if I don’t get behind the wheel once in a while, I’m worried I’ll forget how to drive!”

“O-Oh, yeah sure!”

They stopped off at a bookstore a little later, the both of them browsing comfortably. Kazumi jumped and pulled out her phone, a confused look on her face.

“Why’s aniki calling me?” she asked, flipping open her phone and hitting accept. “Hello?” after a moment she inhaled sharply, causing Itsuki to give her a concerned look as her face darkened. “Do you know what kind of position that puts me in, aniki!? Just tell him to leave!” there was more silence as she curled closer to herself. “I don’t care what he wants! I’m hanging up!” and that was exactly what she did.

“Is everything alright?” Itsuki asked.

“O-Oh, uh, yeah. Everything is fine.” she responded with a fake smile as she turned back to her book, flipping without reading. Itsuki suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

~0~

“This sucks.” Iketani said softly. “Itsuki went out with a lady friend this morning and hasn’t been back.” it hurt to say that. “While I’m stuck going out on a Saturday drive with your ass.”

“Right back at you, asshole.”

“AH!” Kenji jumped, nearly swerving.

“Holy shit, what!?”

“I think I just saw Itsuki’s Levin at that convenience store back there!” Kenji perked vibrantly, quickly pulling a U-turn.

“Little shit’s going on an outing around here, is he? It’s time to spy!” they came back to the store and pulled into the lot, both getting out and hurrying to hide behind a wall to wait. It didn’t take long for Itsuki and Kazumi to exit the store.

“Something seems wrong…” Iketani commented, and Kenji hummed in agreement. Itsuki’s eyes widened minutely and Kenji swore.

“He’s seen my car.” Itsuki’s eyes narrowed a little, but his form visibly relaxed.

“Something about this is very wrong.” Iketani repeated.

“So,” Itsuki began. “What do you say we head back? I can take you most of the way there.”

_“I… I don’t want to go home tonight.”_ Kazumi responded, and Iketani choked, a growl beginning to leave his throat. He could see Itsuki was shocked and taken aback, he obviously hadn’t signed up for such a question. Was he even seeing this as a date?

“Did you fucking hear that!?” Kenji hissed, oblivious to Iketani’s mood. “That’s the line every man wants to hear!”

“S-So…” he stuttered, catching their attention. “Like, the last time you didn’t want to go back? We just drive around until we pass out?”

_“No…”_ she responded. _“Itsuki, I really like you, and today was very fun. A good first date.”_

“D-Date?” that confirmed it for Iketani, this hadn’t started off as a date.

_“And I don’t want this night to end. So…”_ Itsuki was still for a moment, before he let out a choked sound.

“Y-You wanna…” at her nod, he paled. Iketani almost collapsed.

“Oi, Iketani, pull it together!” Kenji hissed worriedly.

_“But, before you agree, I have to tell you something.”_

Itsuki was very uncomfortable, incredibly so, this was much different from the Kazumi he’s known before.

“W-What?” she motioned him to follow and walked to the back of the store. As he walked after her he could hear a stick snap behind the corner.

_“Itsuki, I’ll be honest. I was dating someone up until about a month ago.”_

“Ah?”

_“I… I think I still haven’t gotten over him.”_ she frowned. _“But I want to move on, desperately, and I want to do it with you.”_

“K-Kazumi… I-” the familiar roar of an engine caught their attention and they turned in time to see Wataru’s own Levin come in and park beside Itsuki’s.

_“It’s about time I fucking found you.”_ Wataru groaned as he exited the car, the passenger side opening as well and another male getting out. Kazumi began to growl.

“Oh, hello Wataru.” Itsuki greeted politely, before Kazumi grabbed his arm with more than just two limbs, her grip tight.

_“Let’s bounce, Itsuki. There’s no reason we should stick around.”_ she began tugging Itsuki towards his Levin, and he could faintly pick up the sound of growling coming from behind the store.

_“Kazumi!”_ Wataru growled, his pedipalps emerging and his own limbs appearing at his sides._ “You can’t just run away from this!”_

_“This has nothing to do with you, aniki!”_

_“You know I don’t like cowards, Kazumi! If you don’t feel guilty about anything then don’t go hangin’ up on people!”_

“Kazumi… please, hear me out for a second.” the other male said, coming to stand beside Wataru. He had a pair of round, brown ears on his head and a bushy tail hung limply behind him. A tanuki, maybe?

_“You don’t get to suddenly say something like that to me! Go away!”_ Kazumi’s grip on Itsuki’s arm tightened.

“No, Kazumi, hear me out! I want to get back together!” Kazumi recoiled, and Itsuki felt her grip loosen some. “There’s a reason I’ve been acting so indecisive towards you, I wasn’t confident in myself. I’m just a normal, run of the mill office worker, and there’s the age difference between us, I was nearly convinced that there was no way you’d ever want to hang out with me for the long run. I knew it would only be a matter of time before you left, so I acted like this whole thing was a game. But honestly, that’s not how I felt about it at all!” Kazumi’s grip lessened more as she removed an arm from him to place against her chest. “Being away from you, I learned full well just how important you are to me. Kazumi… please…” her grip tightened a little more as she growled, and it suddenly clicked.

Her grip was an indicator that she very obviously still loved that tanuki, loosening as he proclaimed his love for her, then tightening when he was done. Yet, she remained latched onto Itsuki, almost as if she were oblivious to her feelings. If she was, then maybe Itsuki wouldn’t be so on edge, but the truth was, Itsuki knew she was well aware of what she was feeling. Takumi had told him that his kind were usually well in-tune with their emotions. It was almost like she was trying to punish either herself, the tanuki, or both of them for whatever happened.

And she was using Itsuki to do it. If she was using him like that, how else was she planning to use him?

_‘Iketani wouldn’t do this to you.’_ a little voice in the back of his head whispered. _‘He’s honorable, why else would fate mark you both this way?’_ Itsuki agreed with the little voice, and came to a decision. With a tense of the muscle, he yanked himself free of her grip and took a few steps away, much to her shock and horror.

_“I-Itsuki!? What-”_

“Shut up.” the words snapped her silent, and even Wataru’s eyes widened. “You called our outing today a date, but I never agreed to that. This was time spent as friends. You know damn well I let you go when you left Shibukawa and said you’d never come back.”

_“Itsuki-”_

“I’m not done.” she shut up once again. “I’ve come to realize what you’re doing, and Takumi was right about humans and spiders.” her eyes widened further.

_“Itsuki, what are you on about?”_ Wataru asked, alarmed, and Itsuki turned to face him, his arms crossing, revealing a muted brown swirl on the underside of his forearm. Kazumi’s pupils contracted at the sight of it.

“Kazumi told me that she wanted to get over him,” he gestured to the tanuki. “And wanted me to help her do it. I doubt that’s what she had planned, though. Before she returned to Saitama, I was nearly love struck by her, I know that, and she knows that. Had she asked me to do something, anything, I probably would have done it. More to the point, I doubt she was planning on making us,” he gestured between them. “A thing.”

_“Itsuki-”_

_“Kazumi, shut up.”_ her jaw snapped shut once more, her eyes shining with outrage at Wataru’s tone._ “Itsuki, you’re making it sound like she’s using you. You know what you’re saying, right?”_ he nodded, and Wataru looked at the tanuki with wide eyes.

“I know exactly what I’m saying, because that’s what this seems to be.”

_“Itsuki, that’s not-”_

“Kazumi.” Itsuki said firmly, his voice cracking. “No.” she recoiled. “My answer was always going to be no.” he was visibly crying at that point, quite obviously hurt by all this. “Just… stop lying to both of us and get on with it.” she took a step towards him, an arm reaching towards him, and as he took another step back, the growling hit a fever pitch, and a large brown wolf leapt from behind the building. It was like time slowed, Itsuki’s eyes widening as he registered what was happening, and he quickly put himself between the wolf and Kazumi, his arms out. Kenji fell in a heap from behind the building, his eyes wide.

“IKETANI! NO!” Kenji yelled. Kazumi gasped, Wataru’s eyes were wide, the tanuki’s mouth was covered by his own hand, and Itsuki closed his eyes, bracing for impact. The weight of the wolf knocked him over, knocking the air from his lungs, but all he could focus on was the feeling of the strong force clamped down on his right arm, digging into the flesh around his compatibility mark. He could feel the bones in his arm snap as his vision spotted over, his nerves alight as his ears rang, and all he could think about was how it all felt to the rest of his body.

Who knew that bites burned like acid in your veins?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am, so sorry.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

A deep sense of foreboding had settled in Takumi’s gut the night before, distracting him while in the middle with a call with Keisuke. The oni had immediately noticed and asked what happened, and Takumi merely stated that something about that night felt off. The prickling at the back of his head did nothing to help that feeling, he knew that meant something bad was going to, had was happening, but he had no idea where, or to whom. And when he’d woken up that morning for his run, giving his father a slightly wider than usual berth as he hesitantly made his way to the Impreza, Spider told him that they should go see Itsuki. There was no rhyme or reason, he just had the feeling that they should go find him.

So here he was, much later in the day and in his own 86, pulling into the lot of Yuichi’s gas station, his eyes only taking in Kenji, and and a very ill looking Iketani. But no Itsuki.

“Hey, Takumi!” Kenji called easily as Takumi got out of his car. Iketani flinched a little, and Takumi’s eyes flashed.

“Where’s Itsuki?” he asked immediately, clicking a little, and Kenji glanced at Iketani. “I’ve been having a bad feeling about _something_ since yesterday night, and suddenly this morning Spider says we should go see him, but I can’t find him anywhere.” Iketani looked at him warily, obviously trying to play submissive.

“He…” Iketani’s voice croaked a little, like he hadn’t spoken all day. “Some things happened yesterday night. B-But I didn’t mean to-”

“Iketani, how about I handle this.” Kenji sat a hand on the wolf’s shoulder and turned to look at Takumi. “Itsuki went out with Kazumi yesterday.”

“That alone paints a bad picture.” Takumi said, grimacing.

“Dunno about that, but he’d been out with her all day. Iketani was getting mopey about it.”

“I was not…” Iketani muttered.

“But we’d gone on a drive, just the two of us, wolfie complaining about it, when we spotted Itsuki’s car and… got a little too nosy for our own good.” Takumi’s face turned exasperated. “Don’t give me that look, damn arachnid. Long story short, Kazumi was trying to use Itsuki as a way to get over her ex, from what I understand of it all. Wataru and her ex found them, there was a confrontation as her ex proclaimed his love for her and Itsuki tried to dip from the situation. Iketani shouldn’t have been there, neither should I have been, but we were, and Iketani was getting angry at Kazumi because she’d been tugging around Itsuki without input from him and such, until it got too much and he just… shifted and lunged.” Takumi’s eyes widened in horror. “Itsuki got between him and Kazumi, and the outcome of that was Itsuki’s arm locked between Iketani’s jaws. He’s at the hospital, as far as I know.”

“... you bit him?”

“I didn’t mean to.” Iketani responded. “I-I tunnel visioned. Couldn’t tell friend from foe, I just wanted to rip that spider bitch limb from limb but-”

“And she would have deserved it.” Takumi cut in, his eyes locked onto a spot on Iketani’s neck. The top of the dark swirl there was very telling. “She was moving in on your claim.” Iketani realized what Takumi was getting at and quickly covered his neck. “While I’m upset that this all even happened… I honestly can’t blame you, Iketani.”

“... what?”

“I haven’t forgotten that you’re two in one instead of a whole.” Takumi said, and Iketani winced. “Strong emotions can overpower you, allowing your instincts to take over, It happens to me when I’m racing sometimes.” he shifted his stance. “That, and I warned Itsuki that getting involved with a female Jorōgumo would only end badly, though I didn’t mean it like this.”

“Wait, what do you mean, only end badly?” Kenji questioned. “Itsuki said that you’d warned him of something, but…” Takumi stared at him for a moment, his eyes darting to the side to see Yuichi listening intently.

“We Jorōgumo used to be a female-only race.” Takumi said, catching their attention. “I think that the domestication process, plus the integration of Tsuchigumo into the bloodline, allowed for males to be born to give some measure of cover for our race as a whole, I mean seriously a family line who only births girls is suspicious.”

“What does this have to do with-”

“I’m getting to that, hush.” Kenji’s jaw clicked shut. “As our race had originally been only females, it’s the female Jorō who are the stronger of us all. As is with any spider, the females are bigger and stronger.” he sighed. “But, they’re also manipulative, and tend to use force to get what they want.”

“Right.” Yuichi cut in, deciding then to come forward and join the conversation. “In a way, Takumi, you and Bunta were lucky, as your mother was a runt, and therefore just barely bigger than your dad. The lack of obvious size difference really mellowed her out.”

“That’s what dad told me. Kazumi, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be a runt at all.” he was silent for a moment. “There have been human-Jorō relationships recorded in the past. All of them ended horribly, because it was always a male human who fell for a female Jorōgumo, and were killed only after a few years together because the female felt she was entitled to more than a human could give her.”

“It’s why all Jorōgumo are hesitant when presented with the chance that a human is compatible with them.” Yuichi cut in again. There was silence.

“When I realized that Itsuki had been in love with her, I’d warned him about females. At first vaguely, but after he told me that she wasn’t coming back, and that he’d let her go, I warned him extensively about the kind of things she could pull.” he was silent for a little, before his eyes locked on Iketani. “So no, while I’m upset, I don’t blame you at all for wanting to tear Kazumi limb from limb. Itsuki decided that it wasn’t worth there being a fight between creatures and did the wrong thing by jumping between you and her.” he winced. “I just wish he hadn’t been bitten.”

“So… you aren’t going to gut me over attacking Itsuki?”

“No, but what I will do is tell you that he’s_ your_ responsibility now!” he pointed a finger at Iketani and kept his tone firm. “He’s a lycan now, like it or not. It’s up to you to help him through the full moon that’s coming up in a week, and it’s up to you to teach him how to control himself during shifts.” Iketani gulped and nodded, obviously frightened by the demands but going with it anyway. Takumi pulled away and looked at Yuichi. “Itsuki will likely come back to work the moment he’s released from the hospital, don’t stop him unless you think it’ll be too much on him.”

“I know the drill, Takumi.” Yuichi chuckled, before a firm look came over his face. “With all of that out of the way, Itsuki will likely come back to work tomorrow, so when he does, this topic is completely and utterly _off limits_. Understand?”

“Yessir.” Iketani and Kenji both responded immediately, and with that, a car pulled into the lot, Takumi’s eyes widening when he registered it to be Wataru’s Levin, said spider stepping out.

“High octane!” he called as he walked towards Takumi, and Iketani immediately hopped to it.

“Hello Wataru.” Takumi greeted quietly, receiving an incline of the head in response.”

“Takumi, I had been hoping you were here. There’s something I need to talk to you about.” Takumi tilted his head. “Would you mind coming with me?” he narrowed his eyes slightly, before locking eyes with Yuichi and tossing him his keys.

“Sure. Just let me get my jacket.”

Wataru payed and both got in the Levin, driving off to Akina. Takumi relaxed a little, allowing his pedipalps out as they shifted around tiredly.

_“Takumi…”_ Wataru began, catching sight of the tired arachnid from the corner of his eye._ “I may not have been able to control any of what happened yesterday, but it still stands that I still caused Itsuki’s situation to go from iffy to horrible.”_ Takumi side eyed the other spider. _“I want you to tell him I’m sorry for acting rash and dragging Kazumi’s drama out in the open while he was around. If I hadn’t gotten pissy with her for hanging up on me, there wouldn’t have been a confrontation, and Itsuki wouldn’t have been bitten. In fact, he’d made it quite clear that he was going to soundly reject her without incident if I hadn’t come along.”_

_“It’s good that he was.”_ Takumi muttered.

_“I’ll agree with that, Kazumi’s particularly forceful and possessive with her mates. I’m glad Itsuki’d gotten over her.”_ he grimaced. _“She’s too damn ugly for a good kid like him.”_ Takumi snickered.

_“I’ll pass along the sentiments.”_ Takumi said, and suddenly it was quiet in his head. Spider had been clicking the whole time, and Takumi hadn’t even noticed.

**_‘... tch. We... like him. He can stay.’_** Spider finally admitted, and Takumi suppressed a smile. He tensed as Wataru sped one of Akina’s corners, feeling every difference between this Levin and his Truno.

_“So this is what a supercharger feels like…”_ he muttered, catching Wataru’s attention. _“It’s different from anything I’ve felt before.”_

_“Good.”_ Wataru said, noting that Takumi was much more interested in these sorts of things compared to when they first met. _“My supercharger easily clocks over two hundred on a chassis dynamo, but on a high-speed stage like this, it’s not so good on extended uphills. Sure does feel nice on Chichibu’s narrow mountain roads, though.”_ they were silent for a moment as Wataru gave Takumi a moment to process. _“Where’s your hostile little guard spider?”_

_“Nejibana?”_ at Wataru’s nod, Takumi huffed. _“At home, acting entitled. Her sire told me to leave her there so he could knock some sense into her.”_ he scoffed. _“Keisuke’s spoiled her so much that she’s turned into such a brat.”_ Wataru laughed at his words. They fell into a comfortable silence as Wataru continued his way up the pass. After a while, he came to a stop at the lake and Takumi was out like a shot, morphing to default and pulling his leather jacket closer as he hunkered down by a log seat. _“Dunno if I should be offended or not.”_

_“Don’t be, I’m on the tail end of a spurt so I need a little space. Using this as an excuse.”_ Wataru chuckled and fully shifted as well, settling nearby. They were silent for a little longer.

_“So, now that you’ve beaten the Northwest Area coalition, you’re undefeated in Saitama, right?”_ he tossed a rock and it went skipping over the water. _“There’s just one group left standing… to be honest, I hate ‘em. So full of themselves.”_ he side eyed Takumi. _“I highly doubt they’ll give you too hard of a time.”_

_“They drive Lan-Evos, don’t they.”_ Takumi asked rhetorically, and Wataru gave him a wide eyed look.

_“How’d you…”_

_“Itsuki called the shop, before last night’s incident, while he and Kazumi were still out and she was off doing something on her own, at least that’s what I’m assuming, I hadn’t actually known he was with her last night. But whatever. He said he’d seen them harassing some poor service boy at a restaurant before they left.”_ Wataru hummed at that information and they fell silent once more as he skipped another rock. _“... can I ask you a question?”_ Takumi suddenly asked, causing Wataru to turn to him.

_“Go ahead, what’s on your mind?”_

_“Well… do you feel that there’s a hard limit to the 86’s racing capabilities?”_

_“Hah?”_ Wataru turned to him fully, eyes wide, his pedipalps shifting. _“Yeah, of course I believe that. That’s why I added the turbo, and then the supercharger. It’s why I’m always fiddling with my Levin.”_ his expression wilted a little. _“That last race I did in the rain, just how old the car’s basic design is hit me pretty hard, like a body blow. It’s very unexpected that you’re thinking about the 86’s capabilities. I honestly believe that you’re in a class all your own. I mean, going undefeated in an 86 in this day and age is pretty amazing, and not something that can be done by just anyone.”_ Takumi visibly wilted at those words, and Wataru suddenly looked concerned.

_“That’s just it. I’m not going undefeated.”_ Wataru’s eyes widened. _“Just recently, I was defeated on my own home turf. It’s been eating away at me since.”_

_“What?”_ Wataru looked appalled, outraged but not at him. _“What did you in to this extent?”_

_“An Impreza.”_

_“A four-wheel drive then, huh?”_

_“It’s been bogging me down ever since it happened. It’s like I developed a complex or something.”_

_“But you’ve beaten Lancer Evos before, right? Shouldn’t it be best not to give 4WD any kind of special consideration?”_

_“I’ve been trying to convince myself of that, but…”_ he curled in on himself. _“The impact was far too strong. That’s why I was wondering what you thought about it.”_ they were silent for a moment, before Wataru sat himself down beside the red widow.

_“It seems we both dislike running up against the 86’s limits.”_ he sighed. _“And honestly, it’s not just 4WDs, it’s everything. I’m genuinely terrified of all the new cars.”_ Takumi listened closely to his words. _“But, I’ve used that complex as a way to spring back even harder. I’m refining my techniques, and am using my skills to cover the difference in car functionality… let me tell you somethin’, this is the perfect chance to get rid of this debilitating hang-up of yours. Your next opponent will very well be a 4WD, as they’ve been jumping at the bit to set up races with your team.”_

_“Mm.”_

_“Up till last year, you could keep on willing, having nothing to do with theory or even being in the know, but once you hit a certain point, you’re bound to run into its limitations. For example, I can firmly assume that you have no clue what a 4WD is, but despite that, you race your absolute hardest and end up winning. It’s a fool’s victory, in a way, but I think that’s your greatest strength.”_ Takumi was hanging on his every word and he knew it. It was proven as he turned towards the red widow completely and locked eyes with him. _“What’s being demanded of you now is that you understand the characteristics of 4WD, and that you negate your enemy’s strengths and attack their weaknesses. Winning smart, that’s the name of this game you’ve begun to play. You need to start thinking for yourself, try coming up with your own attack plan.”_

_“... my own attack plan…?”_ Takumi echoed, and Wataru smiled wryly at him.

_“Still, it’d be boring if you started getting too clever. Letting that unnatural luck of yours run wild it what makes your style and abilities completely your own.”_ and with that said, he skipped another rock.

_“... thank you, Wataru.”_ Takumi said, and Wataru laughed.

_“No problem. Just make sure you don’t let that Impreza take control of your head.”_

_“Even if the driver is my own father?”_ Wataru choked on that question, coughing a little.

_“Outsiders, especially if that’s the case.”_ he sighed. _“You may not have told me much, but your dad quite obviously wants to see you get better. This is probably some misguided attempt at making you open your eyes but honestly, I can say it worked. Even if you’ve been depressed to the point of coming to me for help.”_ Takumi deadpanned at Wataru, and the mouse spider merely laughed at him.

~0~

“What did you call me here to talk about?” a deep voice groused lowly.

“Well, this’ll just be between us, Aikawa, but… if we win this next race, it’ll mean big money.~”

“Huh?”

“Well, that Project D is famous, innit? Just think about it: what if our Lancer Evos win? Being the shop that worked on those cars has more advertising potential than you can imagine. If you really promoted it on the internet, I bet there’d be a massive increase in customers.”

“I’m startin’ to get what you’re talkin’ about, Ichijo. Just how much are we talkin’ here?”

“For winning both races, five hundred thousand.” Aikawa’s eyes grew wide. “One win, two hundred fifty thousand. For a draw, fifty thousand.” he let out a sound of complete interest.

“You’re serious about this?”

“Mmhmm.~”

“Winnin' won’t be easy y’know.”

“You’re talking as if this’ll be a clean race.” Ichijo smirked. “Who said I ever planned on running a clean race? If a little underhandedness can get results, then so be it.” Aikawa’s face was split by a dark smile. “And I know that’s your specialty. Underhandedness, I mean.” he laughed.

“That ain’t somethin’ I wanna hear from you, but yeah.” the two humans laughed, an ugly sound to those listening, and back in the trees, a set of eyes blinked.

_‘Cheating, eh? For greed?’_ this figure thought blandly. _‘Thank the void the blessed foresaw this. Otherwise my warning would come far too late.’_ and with that, the eyes blinked once more and the figure vanished, and three large, black feathers were the only shred of evidence that they were ever there to begin with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *still feels guilty over Itsuki despite knowing that it gets better*
> 
> Also, the Len-Evo arc in this fic... might just change this story's rating. Maybe. Probably. I'll have to get help for that. I'm not good at writing out certain things and this arc falls directly within that category.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Spider is going to get screentime for a chapter and a half because whoooo boy protective instincts are WILD, fam

Takumi took a curious glance at the rival team, his and Keisuke’s fingers grazing one another but not touching. He took in their cars, Lan-Evos, just as Wataru had said, and a sense of dread ran down his spine. Something was going to go wrong, he knew. If only he knew what. As he and Keisuke came to a stop beside Ryousuke, there was a fluttering sound, and Takumi looked up in time to see a fairly large crow land atop the van.

“A crow…?” he muttered, tilting his head at it. It tilted it’s own head back at him.

“Ryousuke!” Fumihiro’s voice echoed, pulling his gaze from the bird. The siren was standing by the rival team “Come here a moment!” Ryousuke blinked once in surprise, before walking over as Fumihiro requested. Takumi noticed Matsumoto close his eyes and relax a little, and sighed. Maybe he’s give Matsumoto’s pastime a chance, just this once. He closed his eyes and focused on his hearing.

“... want to split the practice time and get some racing in as well.” he heard Fumihiro say. “We’ve never done it like that before. What do we do?”

“Is there a strict reason for splitting the time?” Ryousuke asked kindly. “It wouldn’t be at all impossible to practice at the same time.”

“We don’t really like that idea.” a deep voice responded, likely the leader of the team. “We’ve never been the type to run a course with a team we’ve never seen actually race before. You may have a reputation, but hearsay is hearsay, and we don’t know how good you actually are.” Takumi heard Keisuke begin to growl at that statement and opened his eyes, watching Keisuke begin his way over.

“Keisuke-” Takumi fumbled and missed grabbing his mate’s arm, stumbling as Kenta grabbed him to keep him from falling over.

“And what are you tryin’ to say, huh?” Keisuke demanded as he stopped beside his brother.

“Keisuke, keep out of this.” Ryousuke said, setting a hand on Keisuke’s chest and pushing him back a little.

“But aniki-”

“I’m just askin’ you to be fair, and give us half the time till morning.” the leader cut in, looking agitated. “What’s with the attitude? If there’s a problem with this then we don’t have to race at all. Honestly, it ain’t like we got a reason to go out of our way for a race.”

“Just let them do it.” Ryousuke said immediately, much to their surprise. “We’ve been given no reason to reject their terms. We’ve come to race them, not the other way around.” Ryousuke turned and walked towards Takumi, pausing near him to look at the crow as the Lan-Evos started up and rushed off. A prickling sensation started at the back of Takumi’s head, and he gulped.

“Ryousuke…” he began, catching the Sphinx’s attention. “I’ve got a bad feeling about all this. Something terrible is going to happen, but I can’t tell what.” Ryousuke stared at Takumi, looking a little surprised, before he relaxed a little.

“So you feel it too?” he asked, much to Takumi’s surprise. “Something bad might just happen, I just hope it doesn’t.” with that he continued away, in time for Keisuke to take his place with a growl.

“What a joke.” Keisuke snarled, his eyes flashing green. “What the hell’s he talking about, ‘fair’? This is their_ home course_, the one they _always_ run. They just don’t want us to practice.”

“We’ve never met anyone who’ve acted like that before.” Takumi said softly.

“They piss me off.” Kenta cut in.

“Everyone we’ve met so far has raced us clean, and fairly, strategy or no.” Keisuke took back over, and the prickling sensation at the back of Takumi’s head picked up in fervor. “Well, if they think cutting our practice time in half will give them the advantage, they couldn’t be more wrong. Come tomorrow, we’ll give them a lesson in the true power of this project!” 

With Ryousuke, his mind was racing faster than ever, his thoughts jumbling as he felt the crow land on his shoulder.

_‘You’ve prepared wonderfully.’_ he heard a voice echo in his head. _‘Everything will work out.’_ and with that the crow lifted from his shoulder and was gone.

“Ryousuke.” Fumihiro called, and walked around the van.

“Mmm?”

“This situation is unprecedented for this team, huh?” he asked, his feathers shifting audibly below his disguise. “But, despite that, this could be a good experience for Takumi, right? Having to come up with a course strategy and prepare his 86 in half the time he’s used to, I mean.”

“Which would be fine, if that was all that’s happening.” Ryousuke responded, causing Fumihiro to widen his eyes slightly. “Something we couldn’t have foreseen is going to happen tonight. I know it.” his eyes locked on his FC and Fumihiro followed his gaze. “I’m still hoping that what I think is going to happen won’t… but just in case it does…”

“Ryousuke, what are you going on about?”

“They’re planning something heinous, Fumihiro, don’t let your guard down.” the sound of a door shutting made Ryousuke turn and look at Keisuke’s FD, seeing his brother shifting inside before vanishing downwards, likely planning to sleep. Takumi, on the other hand, was over by Matsumoto, talking with him comfortably.

They could only wait.

It was much later when Ryousuke heard the Lan-Evos return from their runs, Keisuke’s form exiting his car with a stretch and audible yawn as the sphinx made his way over to Takumi.

“Alright Takumi.” he said, gaining the spider’s full attention. “We don’t have as much time as we usually do, so I need you to work double time to burn both the road surface and course topography into memory. Understand?”

“Yessir.” Takumi nodded.

“Outsiders, finally!” Keisuke groaned, rubbing his neck. “Is it our turn to go now?”

“You need to be more patient, love.” Takumi commented softly as their opponents came to a stop and got out. “Yes, it’s our turn, but Tomiguchi seems to be doing some last minute work on your FD. Let’s wait a second for him to be done.” Keisuke groaned and walked over to Takumi, setting his head on his shoulder.

“Okay.” he yawned, and Takumi laughed.

“Alright!” Tomiguchi said after a moment, causing Keisuke to perk. “We’re all set. Shall we get going, Keisuke?”

“Yeah!” Takumi turned and made his way towards his 86, Matsumoto in tow, as Keisuke and Tomiguchi rushed off.

“We have much less time than usual.” Matsumoto said as they both got in and buckled up. “So we’ll have to work hard to make this count.”

“Gotcha.” Takumi responded as he relaxed enough to allow his pedipalps out. There was a small round of clicks and Takumi opened the glove compartment, allowing Nejibana out. The little spider was quick to hop onto Matsumoto. “Here we go.”

~0~

“They’d better enjoy themselves while they can.” Aikawa muttered ruefully as he looked at his friend. “The best option we have is that FD.”

“You aren’t tryina make this easier for just yourself, are you?” Ichijo chuckled, and Aikawa’s face morphed angrily.

“Not at all. That kid in the FD just _really_ pissed me off. Fucker looked at me and _scowled_. I want that little shit to _cry_!”

“Alright.” Ichijo rolled his eyes, a little put off by the vindictiveness his friend was displaying as he pulled out his phone and began dialing. “Remember that we split any earnings down the middle.” he put the phone to his ear. “Status?” 

_“Ready to begin.” _

“Good. Your target is that FD.”

_“Are you sure we should be doing this? If we get caught, we'll be in some serious shit.”_

“Just do it. And don’t fuck up.”

_“But what if we miss? We might end up getting both cars.”_

“What does it matter if you get _both_ cars? If it happens, then it happens.” Ichijo laughed nastily at his own words and hung up. Unbeknownst to them, two sets of eyes were watching them from the trees, both gleaming with disgust and rage.

This wasn’t going to end well.

~0~

Keisuke felt almost giddy as Takumi passed him in the 86, knowing his mate was completely focused and the car itself giving off an aura of determination. It was invigorating.

“Y’know, Tomiguchi,” he began, catching the werecat’s attention as he continued working. “Practice with Takumi around is very fun. Every time he passes me it kicks my competitive spirit into high gear.”

“That’s good.” the cat responded distractedly. “It means that he encourages you to get better. Matsumoto’s told me that he’s said that you have the same effect on him.” Keisuke felt very happy at that.

“Excellent.” he chuckled. “Much different compared to when I first met him.” as he passed the corner, his eyes settled on a very dark spot on the road, the surface sloshing in the dim light. “The fuck is that?”

“Water?” Tomiguchi offered curiously, having looked up at the sudden change in tone.

“But there wasn’t anything here earlier-” his headlights shined on it, rainbows reflecting back, and Keisuke choked. “IT’S OIL!” they drove through it, the FD quickly sliding out of control. Tomiguchi and Keisuke both tensed and prepared for impact, the front left side smacking into the concrete bridge and forcing the FD to a stop on the other side as Keisuke slammed on the breaks. His ears were ringing as his eyes widened and his grip dropped from the wheel.

“...suke… Keisuke! KEISUKE!” Tomiguchi’s voice finally cut through his sudden panic and he was out of his car in seconds, the cat hot on his heels as he forced himself to face the damage. “Keisuke we have to call in!”

“...” Keisuke fumbled with his phone as he pulled it from his pocket, nearly dropping it before Tomiguchi took it.

“I’ll call, you sit, down you look like you’re about to collapse.” Keisuke did as Tomiguchi said, unable to comprehend what was happening. “Fumihiro, it’s Tomiguchi… yes something damn well did happen-”

“Are those fuckers still there!?” Keisuke snapped, finally processing what had happened and who had to be behind it. His hearing kicked in completely, his eyes and teeth shifting in his anger.

_“What?”_ he heard Fumihiro ask. _“Does Keisuke mean the guys we’re racing? They left a little while ago. Is everything okay?”_

“Nothing is okay, Fumihiro. The fact that they’re gone doesn’t set well. Fumihiro, you have to stop the 86! DO _NOT_ LET HIM COME BACK AROUND THE BRIDGE!”

_“W-What? Tomiguchi, what’s going on?”_

“Someone put oil all over the road out here, and for Takumi to have gotten through fine means they were coordinated.”

_“What!? Are you guys alright!?”_

“Yes, Keisuke and I are fine but… the FD is completely screwed. It doesn’t look like something that can be fixed by tomorrow night… get over here with the vans, as fast as you can, and stop Takumi!”

~0~

Takumi simmered as he watched Fumihiro swipe a finger through the oil, the siren wincing at the feeling of it as he held it at arm’s length away from himself, and the feathers hidden beneath his disguise.

“Ugh, gross.” he groused. “This stuff is thick, even a little bit of this would have done anyone in at any speed. I don’t think anyone could have avoided this, not Keisuke, not even you, Ryousuke.”

“Who in their right mind would do this?” Kenta asked, his eyes flashing.

“I know just who would do this.” Keisuke snarled. “Who the fuck else could have?!”

“Whoever did this likely fled using that side road.” Ryousuke commented, looking over at the road beside Keisuke’s damaged FD. “According to my map, that road is just wide enough to fit a single car, it exits out at the next city over.”

“If we hurry to the other end, then we can catch them!” Keisuke announced, quickly moving in that direction, only for Takumi to grab the back of his shirt, effectively clothes-lining him.

_“You’re staying here.”_ Takumi growled, his own eyes flashing red as Nejibana bobbed atop his head, clicking agitatedly.

“Takumi’s right, you aren’t going anywhere. It’s already too late by now anyway.”

“I can’t just let this _go_, aniki! Look at my precious FD!”

_**“I CAN SEE YOUR FD WELL ENOUGH, KEISUKE!”**_ Ryousuke roared, silencing his brother immediately.** “Control yourself! Don’t go running off half-cocked!”** Keisuke let out a sound of distress as he deflated, giving Takumi the opportunity to pull the oni closer.

“Takumi?” Keisuke asked, sounding alarmed, and Takumi merely tightened his hold on Keisuke. “Takumi-”

“He’s trying to reaffirm that nothing happened to you, Keisuke.” Matsumoto called, and Takumi began bringing the both of them in his direction. “Jorōgumo are touchy creatures, and hearing that you crashed likely startled him.”

_“Mmm.”_ Takumi hummed in agreement as he pulled Keisuke down into a huddle, opting to watch Matsumoto and Tomiguchi work blankly.

“What’s the verdict?” Fumihiro called as he walked over, sparing the small pile of spider and demon a glance.

“It’ll be a lot of work.” Tomiguchi responded. “The suspension arm is completely destroyed. And after an impact like that, we’re going to have to check the alignment as well. I was completely right, there’s no way at all that it’ll be fixed by tomorrow night.”

“B-But-” Takumi set a hand over Keisuke’s mouth, much to the oni’s dismay.

_“Shh. Just accept it as fact.”_ Takumi stated gently. _“If they say there’s nothing they can do to fix it by tomorrow night, then there’s nothing they can do.”_

“Takumi’s right.” Fumihiro said. “Even if Matsumoto and Tomiguchi were to get it to run alright by tomorrow night, it would be tantamount to suicide to race with it. If a car’s got trouble with the underbody, pushing it to the limit would quite literally end in disaster.”

“Right.” Tomiguchi spoke. “There’s no telling how the car would behave. Racing with it in this state is impossible, and it’s limits are at rock bottom.” Keisuke let out an upset whine at that and Takumi removed his hand from the oni’s mouth. Before any of them could speak, there was a loud rev, and they all turned in time to see one of the Lan-Evos begin to pull towards them. Takumi began to growl ferally, much to everyone’s alarm, but as the vehicle drew closer and closer, it quieted down until they could barely hear it. The car pulled to a stop and the driver inside looked wide-eyed.

“Oh dear.” he said, his voice a faux sweet and surprised that was as thick as molasses. “I thought things had gotten too quiet.” a dark, almost pleased look came over his face, and Takumi’s growling became more guttural. “You got into a wreck _here_?” Keisuke began growling too, trying to break free from Takumi’s grasp, but was surprised when his grip only grew stronger.

**_“No.”_** Matsumoto and Tomiguchi visibly jumped at the voice that came from Takumi’s mouth. Fumihiro looked nervous and approached.

“You almost sound amused.” he commented politely, a smile just as fake and sweet as the guy’s tone crossing his face. “But I’ll let it slide. This is quite the inconvenience, so sorry, is there any way we can postpone our race until we can get this sorted out? Say, a week?”

“A week, huh?” the guy looked to be thinking. “No can do.”

“What?”

“This was the only free week we had for the next month.” the guy said. “And besides, I have a date next weekend.”

**_“He won’t.”_** Takumi growled, and Matsumoto shuffled away from the currently very frightening spider.

“Spider-”

“Y’know, a car that can’t make it to the startin’ line is automatically the loser.” the guy cut Keisuke off. “Whatever you guys are dealin’ with, we have nothin’ to do with it.” he began to put the car back into gear. “If any of you are even a minute late to the line, you all lose.” and with that, he sped off, Takumi’s growling ramping up in pitch as he left.

“BASTARD!” Keisuke snarled, finally managing to break free from Takumi’s arms. Spider began to click in alarm as his mate began to walk off, obviously going to pace, and he got up, looking to follow after. “He’s really starting to piss me off!” Keisuke kicked the rail, denting it slightly.

“We have no time for you to be venting frustration on a guardrail.” Ryousuke called, his brow twitching when Keisuke flipped him off in response. He turned to Matsumoto. “When Takumi snaps out of his state, I want you two to work on getting the 86 set up.”

“Alright.” Matsumoto answered nervously, watching Takumi visibly fret over Keisuke while not touching him.

“Of course, make sure to run the course in halves until we finish cleaning up the oil. To everyone else, you’re on oil cleaning detail! We don’t have much time, hop to it!”

“Aniki!” Keisuke yelled as everyone got to work, Takumi following after, his eyes a pure black. “What am I supposed to do!?”

“For that I have no idea, Keisuke. We can’t fix your FD by tomorrow night, it’d be a wasted effort to try. I’ve literally thought out every possible option for that and my conclusion is that it’s impossible. There isn’t enough time, Keisuke.”

“B-But, if I don’t we’ll be playing right into their hands!”

**“Keisuke, what don’t you understand about this!?”** Ryousuke snapped. **“The blame for your FD’s crash lies solely with you!”**

“W-What?”

**“If it had been me, I wouldn’t have fucked up my FC over something as simple as oil on the damn road!”** Keisuke’s expression began to turn hurt at his brother’s words. “**All of this happened because you couldn’t control your ego, and you weren’t attentive enough. Calm down and think this over!”** Keisuke’s expression wilted, much more visibly than anyone, even Ryousuke himself, had ever seen, and tears welled up in his eyes as he croaked, before running off.

**_“Mate!”_** Takumi called after Keisuke, looking appalled, before a growl tore from his throat and he rounded on Ryousuke, his teeth lengthening and dripping with venom. **_“We’ll be talking. You are out of line this time, lion, and we will not be letting this go any time soon!”_**

**“S-Spider-”** Ryousuke cut himself off and gulped when Takumi bore his teeth, and let out a sigh of relief as he hurried off after Keisuke.

“That was harsh. Even for you, Ryousuke.” Kenta said, before hurrying off to find the two mates.

“... cleared that oil spill like it was nothing.” he heard Keisuke say shakily, and he turned, looking into the woods to see Takumi in full shift, curled around a Keisuke who had his head on his knees. “It’s absolutely like aniki said, Spider, I know it to be so.” Kenta full shifted and flew closer, clicking his claws to make his presence known as he kept low. Takumi stared Kenta down, unblinking and unmoving, before shifting his stance to allow the dragon into the pile. Kenta wrapped around Keisuke in a sort of comforting hug.

**“There’s no way.”** he said. **“Fumihiro said-”**

“I know what Fumihiro said.” Keisuke hiccuped, and Kenta felt something wet fall onto his scales. “But that doesn’t matter. Aniki would have cleared it anyway. I’m so mad at myself for falling for such a cheap trick like that. T-That’s why I have to race, Kenta.” Keisuke looked up and locked eyes with the dragon, tears flowing down his face and the red orb shared between his eyes flickering like a fire on the verge of going out. “W-What do I do? Tell me what to do.” there was a shuffle of feathers, and the three of them looked up in time to see a crow land before them.

**“A crow?”** Kenta asked, tilting his head, and the crow tilted back.** "What's a crow doing out and about this late?" **the crow stared for a little longer, before it spread its wings and it was gone, just as a twig snapped to the right. They all looked over to see Ryousuke, Takumi snarled and pulled them closer, hovering protectively. Ryousuke put his hands up in surrender.

**“I have nothing else to say but… I brought my FC along for a reason.”** Keisuke blinked, rubbing his face.

“A-Aniki… what are you-”

**“It’ll take some tuning, but I’m going with Fumihiro to retrieve it. You’ll be using it just this once so _do not crash my goddamn car_, understand?”** Ryousuke didn’t wait for a response and walked off, leaving the three dumbfounded. Keisuke was the first to process what they had been told and was out of the pile and back onto the road in moments. After another second, Takumi released Kenta and stood.

**_“Seems we won’t be needing to have much of a talk with the lion after all.”_** he muttered, and Kenta blinked at him.

**“You aren’t Takumi, are you?”**

**_“Keen observation, little dragon. We are Spider, and it’s about time we got to start meeting our husk’s nest away from home.”_** from just that, Kenta could tell that Takumi wouldn't be snapping out of this state any time soon.

This was going to be an interesting few days, Kenta could tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhh the rating will definitely change at the end of next chapter, because that will be the races, AND the fun part of all this. So hype.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Keisuke's gets to race in his elder brother's car and the spider is given a warning by the opposite team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, it is me (Gaysuke_Takahashi) posting this, Kiyana worked hard on this chapter (actually I split the chapter in two), she deserves a good rest so here I am writing the end of the next chapter, I hope in the meantime you'll enjoy this first part of the race! See you soon!
> 
> Edit: Mattias, you're a doll, I owe you. I've edited this chapter to make it more to-the-grain of all the others.
> 
> Edit 2: 2/5/20

“So let me get this straight. You are Takumi, but you also… aren’t?”

** _“Yes.”_ **

“And you can race exactly like Takumi?”

** _“Yes.”_ **

“You aren’t going to eat us?”

**_“Rude. But yes, you are our nest. Why would we eat nest?”_** Spider sounded very exasperated at Matsumoto’s questioning, Keisuke snickered.

**“Eeewwww.”** Kenta’s voice whined, and Keisuke turned in time to see the floating dragon lift an oil coated sheet of newspaper up with his claws.** “It’s all sticky!”**

“Guh.” Tomiguchi gagged, turning his nose away from the oil as best he can. Keisuke noticed that his hair was up. “This is horrendous.”

**“What do we do with all this?”**

“Dunno. We have to wait for Fumihiro and Ryousuke to return with the FC, he’ll have an idea.”

“So just why have we never met you before?” Matsumoto’s voice caught Keisuke’s attention once more.

** _“We had no reason to come out before now.”_ **

“And all this is a reason?”

**_“Takumi is… distressed, to say the least. He decided that we are more capable of handling the situation, so we are at the helm.”_** before Matsumoto could respond to that, there was a squeal of tires, and Ryousuke’s white FC came around the corner. Spider was by his side in an instant, quite obviously still leery of Ryousuke after making his mate have a breakdown like he did.

**“Oi! Fumihiro!”** Kenta yelled at the two stepped from the FC.

“Huh?”

**“What do you want us to do with all this!?”** he waggled the newspaper in his claws and some oil flew off, causing Tomiguchi to hiss.

“Gather it all up, we’re gonna go burn it!” he said as he began to walk over. “As for the oil that didn’t get soaked up, all we can do it wash it off with water. We won’t be able to get it completely clean, but a good rain spell will do that for us. Hop to it!” Ryousuke was looking in their direction, and Keisuke pat Spider’s cheek.

“I’ll be alright, love.” he said, and Spider scoffed.

**_“Forgive us for being doubtful.”_** was his response, Nejibana taking the opportunity to scale up Keisuke to his shoulder.

“It’s in your nature to be doubtful, after aniki’s mistake.”

**“Is it safe for me to approach?”** Ryousuke called, and Spider growled a little.

“Spider, go do your run. Trust me, I can take care of myself.”

**_“...”_ **Spider’s expression shifted downwards, before he backed off.**_ “Alright. We’ll go do our run. Please be careful.”_** and with that, he was heading to his car. Keisuke motioned his brother over, and Tomiguchi was quickly by their side.

**“I was afraid he’d never let be back over to you.”** Ryousuke muttered, looking spooked.

“You’re lucky I managed to convince him to do his run like he’s supposed to.” Keisuke commented blandly. “He, and Takumi, are angry.” Ryousuke winced.

“Wait, what do you mean he _and_ Takumi?” Tomiguchi asked.

“I mean just that. That isn’t Takumi. Well, I mean, he is, but he isn’t. Takumi had... a bit of a breakdown of sorts a while back, when he raced against Shingo of the NightKids. That breakdown led to the separation of Takumi, the soft, docile Jorōgumo we all know, and Spider, the part of Takumi that was still very much the feral creature his race originally was. You just met Spider, and he’ll be in control for I don’t know how long.”

“So… we basically have two Takumis?”

“In a sense, yes.” as Tomiguchi thought about that, Keisuke turned his gaze to his brother. “Aniki, are you sure-”

**“Yes, Keisuke. But only this once, scratch the car and I scratch you.”** Ryousuke flexed a hand, and Keisuke gulped. **“I want you to do a run in the FC. See what needs tampered with, and get it done for tomorrow. I’m counting on the both of you to make sure you get this done.”** Ryousuke smiled slyly. **“And besides, imagine their surprise when you get in my FC and use it for the race.”** Keisuke expression brightened considerably and, with a moment of hesitation, took a step towards his brother’s car.

~0~

Spider lazed about in a tree, a few limbs swaying gently as he watched Tomiguchi work on the FD, Keisuke crouched closer by to get a good look.

**_‘It’s surprisingly comfortable up here.’_** he thought, getting a quiet hum back from Takumi. It was odd, not hearing his domestic half’s thoughts constantly. He looked up at the sky through the leaves, watching clouds drift by as he listened to the sounds of tools against metal. There was a small rev and he looked back down in time to see a Project D van pull up, Fumihiro and Matsumoto stepping out.

“Hello.” Fumihiro waved.

“Is there anything we can do to help out?” Matsumoto asked.

“Also, where’s Kenta?”

“He’s in Gunma, getting more parts.” Keisuke said. “Once we have those parts, we might be able to fix the FD faster.” Spider shifted in the tree, causing the leaves to rattle as he descended slowly.

“Even Takumi’s here?”

**_“In a way.”_** Spider responded blandly as he approached.

“You should be getting rest.” Keisuke commented, and Spider scoffed.

**_“We have rested enough.”_** he responded, looking a little jittery. _**“We know this situation will get worse and we worry. Rest only comes if you come with us.”**_ Keisuke sighed.

“And that ain’t happening as long as I insist upon sitting here, so I guess we’re at an impasse.” he groaned.

“You could just go on ahead with your mate, Keisuke.” Tomiguchi said. “You need your rest too, you forget that you’ll be driving the FC later tonight.”

“But-”

“I’ll be fine here, Keisuke. Go get some rest with your mate.” Keisuke looked at them all, wide eyed, before he relaxed and walked over towards Spider, who pulled him into his arms and nodded at them thankfully.

Now, they rest. Revenge would come later that night.

~0~

The sound of laughter echoed around the lot as Aikawa put a hand on his face.

“They all turned as white as sheets!” his eyes went wide and he smiled nastily. “Especially that shit with the FD, he was being comforted on the ground by his damn teammate! What a buncha losers!”

“If we can manage to frighten that 86 driver, we can win both races.~” Ichijo snickered excitedly.

“They’re like ducks in a barrel!” a teammate exclaimed, and everyone exploded into rambunctious laughter as they plotted. Two sets of eyes blinked in alarm at their plots, both locking, before one pair vanished, leaving behind the other to keep an eye on the situation.

~0~

Spider growled quietly from Keisuke’s side as he eyeballed the black FD parked nearby, Keisuke sighing.

** _“She shouldn’t be here.”_ **

“I know.” Keisuke winced. “I thought she got the hint.”

**_“Obviously not. We’ll be dealing with her eventually.”_** Keisuke didn’t want to know what he meant by that.

“Ryousuke.” they heard Fumihiro say, and turned to see what was happening. “I know this is last minute, but will they accept a change of cars? They seem to be the type to push rules upon us to put the advantage in their favor, and if that’s the case they’ll definitely raise hell over anything that gives us any advantage.”

“They’ll allow it.” Ryousuke responded easily. “Be forceful. Be defiant. Trust me, it’ll work.”

“Alright.” Fumihiro visibly braced himself, gathering his wits, before making his way over to the rival team. “Alright. As was said, the FD is unable to race-”

“Then you forfeit?”

“Shut up and let me finish!” Fumihiro snapped, and the opponent was silent immediately. “But, we managed to secure a replacement car for this race.”

“What!? Absolutely not! I won’t allow it.” Fumihiro let out a sound of faux surprise.

“Huh. I thought you said that we could… oh, what were the words? Right, ‘use the 86 or somethin’.’”

“I did not-”

“F1 rules allow for a backup, correct? So, I’m going to cut to the chase. We’re using a car that our uphiller has never touched before. Wouldn’t that put the odds in your favor? Overwhelmingly so?” both racers widened their eyes as Fumihiro’s words. “If you don’t allow this, then our only option is to _leave_, and say that Project D was never even here to begin with. It would be easy to pack everything up and cart ourselves back towards Gunma.” the two growled, before conceding, and Fumihiro made his way back to Ryousuke, looking two steps from a meltdown.

“Fumihiro, that was awesome.” Kenta hissed.

“Glad to know that.” Fumihiro said faintly. “Ryousuke was right once again, but that was terribly draining.”

“The fact that I was right means that there’s an ulterior motive behind all this.” Ryousuke commented. “For all the lip they’ve given us about what an inconvenience we are, they’re strangely adamant about just what constitutes a victory for them.”

“Which means it’s something we can’t overlook.”

“Right. There has to be a reason as to why they’re so determined to win. I’m of the opinion that they’re in it for something more tangible than victory.”

“You don’t think they’re in it for money, do you?” all of Project D looked appalled by that thought.

“It’s very possible.”

“That very idea makes me that much more determined to beat them.” Keisuke growled, and Spider nodded in agreement.

“Alright, to the starting line!” Fumihiro yelled, and Keisuke began towards his brother’s FC.

**_“Keisuke.”_** Spider called, and the oni looked at him.**_ “Don’t let them provoke you any. Tune ‘em out.”_** Keisuke saluted, shooting him a smirk, and stepped into the FC. Spider turned his attention back towards the black FD, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the harpy standing out of her car, staring at Ryousuke’s FC with confusion and worry. If she got any closer to his mate tonight, she’d be on his list.

No one wanted on a Jorōgumo’s list.

The roar of engines and the squeal of tires caught his attention, and he turned in time to see the two racers speed off.

** _‘Win.’_ **

“Ryousuke.” he heard Fumihiro begin. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

“Why exactly did you let Keisuke use your FC? You don’t let people touch that car.”

“Honestly? I’ve let him ride shotgun enough for him to know how the car feels, if even a little. It would be easier for him to drive it rather than some other car I tried to call in. And besides, after my reaction, I kinda owe it to him.”

“... but how did you know you’d need it?” Ryousuke let out a small sigh.

“Sphinxes… riddles and flying aren’t all we can do, Fumihiro. We can see into the future, if even by a little. Nothing involving ourselves, but anything else is within our sight.” he shifted his stance. “I got the impression that something would happen yesterday night that would require the use of my FC. I hadn’t known what, but I brought it anyway as I have learned to never ignore a warning like that.”

~0~

“I can’t believe I’m driving aniki’s car.” Keisuke muttered to himself. “Tomiguchi must have worked overtime to make it run smoothly for me, Matsumoto might have a hell of a time getting it back to aniki’s tastes.” his mind wandered a little as he remembered Kyoko and winced. “Imagine if aniki hadn’t let me use his FC. I might have just caved and begged the harpy to use her FD.” he frowned. “I don't know how I feel about that idea.”

“Some journalist wrote in some magazine that when it comes to general street racing, the Lancer Evo is the fastest in the world.” Aikawa chortled. “FD, FC, neither stand a chance against me!” as he rounded a few corners, his eyes flicked to the rearview. “I ain’t got time to be playin’ around, brat. Just vanish already!”

~0~

“... You wanna know why Keisuke isn’t driving his FD?” Tomiguchi asked, wincing as Spider’s gaze locked on him, and Kyoko nodded.

“Yes please. It doesn’t seem like him to drive a different car all of a sudden.”

“W-Well, you’re right, it isn’t. You see, the rival team was particularly dirty this time around, and because of that, Keisuke wrecked his FD. It’s completely busted.”

“What!?” she looked horrified, and appalled, and Spider hummed quietly, at least they agreed on that term.

_‘We’re still going to keep a close eye on her.’_ Takumi stated quietly, and Spider agreed completely.

~0~

**_“We’ve been thinking… what makes this race will be extremely simple.”_** Spider said as he focused on Matsumoto.**_ “From what we know, Keisuke has two major handicaps. The first, he’s driving a car not his own. The second, he has little practice on this course.”_** Matsumoto was staring at the arachnid with slight surprise. **_“From what we have learned, that would normally make this race completely unwinnable, but with enough of a difference in ability between drivers, the handicap is lessened.”_** Spider smiled dreamily.**_ “Keisuke’s skills are far superior to his opponent’s.”_**

“Even like this you know that, do you?” Matsumoto asked.

**_“Takumi says that it’s just instinct telling us this, and he’d be right, but I’m certain that if we saw it for our own eyes, we’d be positive. We’re certain that Keisuke’s opponent sucks major ass.”_ **Matsumoto snickered. **_“Did we use that term correctly?”_**

“Yep. Used it perfectly.”

** _“Excellent. Anyway, under normal conditions, we’re positive Keisuke would have won by now.”_ **

“I see what you’re getting at.”

**_“Because of the handicap, there’s currently a sort of balance between them. That’s what kind of race this hillclimb has become.”_** his eyes dart to look at Kyoko once more, noticing that she hasn’t moved at all.

“You know, for being someone separate from Takumi, you’re as well versed as he is.”

** _“That’s because we’re always listening.”_ **

~0~

“Why the hell can’t I shake him!?” Aikawa snapped as he rounded a corner. “This is ridiculous, I’m driving a _Lancer Evo_! My foot’s so far down on the gas that I’m takin’ corners faster than I’m goddamn comfortable with! This is almost terrifying, it’s hard to keep my eyes in my head! How the hell can a guy who hasn’t even practiced this course keepin’ up with me!?”

Keisuke snarled, hating just how slow his opponent was.

“Pick up the damn pace! You’re gonna make that Lancer Evo of yours _cry_!” as they continued turning corners, Keisuke finally processed something that agitated him. “Damn jackass it taking corners the _orthodox_ way, on a line that goes toward the center. I take corners righter, closer to the in-line. The Lan-Evo pulls ahead a little where the line’s a bit rough on me, but at the next corner, I’ll take a wide line and pick up cornering speed, after that, it’s just a matter of tearing ahead at the straightaway!” he began to pull beside him, feeling his opponent panic as the straightaway appeared. There was enough room for both of them, Keisuke knew it, but his opponent would pussy out, he just knew it.

He was right.

~0~

“Just what were you trying to pull!?” Keisuke stared blankly at the man yelling at him. “If I hadn’t pulled back, there would have been a major accident!”

“You honestly think that?” Keisuke questioned dully, raising a brow as he shut the FC’s door. “You’re not very observant, are you?”

“What!?”

“If you’d gone far enough over to the right, just a little closer to the rail, both of us could have passed that section side by side. If you couldn’t see that, then you have no goddamn clue what you’re yelling about.” his opponent recoiled, a slightly offended look on his face. “That wasn’t some winding, G-shaped curve, it was a goddamn _straightaway_! I was going to drive close to the barricade, two centimeters away, which would have opened five centimeters for you along the rail.”

“Quit talkin’ shit-”

“You’re slow!” Keisuke snapped. “You don’t get it, not with that amount of driving instinct! The fact that you were unable to adapt on the fly, changing course to come in at full speed, it’s _disappointing_. After that, the real battle should have been how we execute braking techniques at top speed. **_Those_ **are the kinds of races I've run up till now. I’ve got nothing else to say to you, this was a disappointment.” and with that, he turned and walked away, pointedly ignoring Kyoko as he approached his brother and handed him his keys. “Thank you, aniki. I owe you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Ryousuke responded easily, before he walked to his own car and got in, driving it out of the way in order for Spider to get ready for his own. And after lining up the cars, Spider heard footsteps approach him, and he quickly forced down his eyes and voice.

“Excuse me, but there’s a few things I wanted to discuss before we began.” his opponent said easily, giving him a look. “You’re very young. What’s your name?”

“Fujiwara.” Spider replied, not daring to give him his husk’s first name.

“Fujiwara, between us, I think there’s trouble abrewin’.” Spider quirked a brow. “Aikawa… he’s flipped his lid, y’know. Went off to call up some of is friends. The people he knows are pretty bad characters. I’m afraid they’re currently on their way.” Spider’s expression turned hostile and mutinous, and his opponent rose a hand in surrender. “Hey now, none of that, I don’t like that shit either. I just wanted to warn you, is all. You seem like a nice kid. I’m not certain, but they might target you if you race much too hard.”

“Are you telling me to _throw the race_?” Spider growled.

“No, no! I’m just saying that you shouldn’t go too hard. I don’t want them targeting a kid like you. I’m just tryna be kind, y’know.” and with that, he sauntered off, leaving Spider apprehensive and agitated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey uh, just a heads up, the next chapter's ending will be gruesome, with 3 people dying, so uhh, you've been warned. (Gaysuke_Takahashi)


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Takumi says screw it to the warning and all hell breaks loose at the end of the night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, so heads up, the end of the chapter can get pretty descriptive of the carnage about to unfold.
> 
> Edit: I seriously owe you for helping me with this part, Mattias. I'm definitely not good at writing this sorta thing even if I consume this kind of content often. (Kiyana)
> 
> Edit 2: 2/5/20

“Are you alright?” Matsumoto asked as Spider got in, peering at him through the window. “You look tense.”

** _“Matsumoto… we just got threatened. He said his friend pitched a fit and called some dangerous buddies of his. He wants us to throw the race. ‘To keep us safe’ he said.”_ **

“He did, did he? Don’t listen to a word of it, it’s a cheap threat from some guy trying to win any way possible.” Matsumoto looked enraged. “Just focus on the race, the threat doesn’t matter. We’re here to win.”

**_“Right.”_** Spider nodded, looking determined, and shot him a very Takumi-esque smile as he rolled up the windows.

“Ryousuke.” Matsumoto called out as Fumihiro began the count down.

“Hmm?”

“Takumi just told me something very interesting.”

“_GO_!”

“Oh?”

“Mm. Apparently the guy who lost against Keisuke blew a gasket, and now there’s a group of dangerous people on their way.” Ryousuke rose his brows.

“Well, he chose the wrong team to do that to.” Ryousuke commented. There was a shifting in the trees and Ryousuke looked upwards, locking eyes with a familiar red pair. “Besides, if the worst comes to pass, we have backup.”

“If the threat is real, and Spider finds out-”

“There’ll be a bloodbath.”

~0~

Spider’s grip on the wheel tightened as his mind repeated the words his opponent told him over and over.

**_“Threat to our nest.”_** he growled. **_“Threat to our mate.”_**

_“There’s no way in hell we’re throwing the race, and if that threat is real?”_

** _“We’ll just beat it bloody.”_ **

_“There’s no way some human can tell us what to do!”_

~0~

“Spider’s mimicking Takumi perfectly, technique and all.” Fumihiro commented as he shut his phone. “That braking technique is apparently quite the surprise to the onlookers.”

“Of course it’s surprising.” Keisuke chuckled. “I know for a fact he’s practiced it over, and over, learning to choose the last possible second as his braking point. No matter who’s at the helm, it’s all instinct for him now.”

“That 86 of his has been tuned purely for the downhill, wherein braking is executed with the front pointing slightly downward.” Ryousuke began. “Utilizing the 86’s light weight, and dependent upon the skills of the driver, it’s braking performance can easily surpass that of ABS. In extended out-of-corner acceleration, the Evo-Six will likely pull ahead of the 86, but through cornering work utilizing its weight, the 86 will just close that gap right up.” as Ryousuke finished speaking, Matsumoto fidgeted a little before be started towards Keisuke.

“Keisuke, there’s something you need to know…” Ryousuke came to his side as be began, once again, explaining what Spider had told him.

“He really said that?” Keisuke said, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, but I’m honestly hoping it was just a scare tactic. I’m really concerned about it.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them to pull something like that.” Fumihiro muttered angrily.

“Just how rotten are these mortals?” Kenta hissed, his eyes flashing as he glanced at Keisuke. “We should-”

“Kenta, no. It’s likely a bluff. Don’t get worked up over it. Besides, we’re big kids, we can handle ourselves, especially against a buncha humans. Keep calm.”

~0~

**_“We can keep up.”_** Spider commented. **_“Poorly, but we won’t be losing this. The real problem here it the driver.”_** images of the blue Impreza flashed in his mind.**_ “This guy is nothing compared to sire.”_** as they rounded the corner, he heard Takumi gasp.

_“There! Did you see it!? That’s it’s weak point!_

** _“We saw.”_ **

~0~

“Takumi or no, he must be pretty rattled to be told such things.” Fumihiro commented. “In terms of diversionary tactics, it’s quite effective for a race like this.”

“I agree.” Matsumoto responded. “I’d told him to forget about it and just focus on the race, but…”

“It isn’t ever that easy. Yeah, I know.” Fumihiro sighed. “It’s a whole different kind of pinch for the spider this time.”

“You all speak as though Takumi and Spider are fragile.” Ryousuke cut in. “He’s not.”

“Right.” Keisuke added. “Anyone who’s raced Takumi even once know that aniki’s right. I know that my mate usually always looks sweet and harmless, but once he gets behind the damn wheel… his concentration skyrockets past anything you could have ever seen, easily reaching pro-racing levels without issue. It’s terrifying.”

“Theoretically speaking,” Ryousuke picked up once again. “If the Evo-Six were to begin maneuvering defensively, it would enter corners tighter. Should the driver fail to consider offensive tactics coming from the outside, that would be where Takumi, and in turn Spider, would strike. While the driver of that Evo-Six is by no means slow, and he is able to cleverly make use of electronic devices, his braking seems to be peak as well. He may make masterful use of the benefits afforded by ABS, but he has no special skills. He can just employ high-level braking that makes full use of the tires’ grip. But his senses, however, seem to be where he’s lacking.”

“Ryousuke really info dumps when he’s interested.” Kenta commented shakily, sounding dazed.

~0~

_**“His braking is weak.”**_ Spider hissed happily. **_“Weak, weak, weak.~”_**

Ichijo swore angrily.

“This is pissing me off!” he snarled. “Shit! For some weak-ass 86 to be able to run this goddamn fast… grrrah! I don’t know what kind of trick he’s pulled, but it’s really pissing me off! I’ll be in trouble if he comes chargin’ in half-assed. I gotta make it safely outta this low-speed section!

_‘His line’s changed…’_ Takumi commented._ ‘He seems to be checking our cornering speed, and keeping his guard up.’_ Spider snarled. _‘It’s a horrible tactic change, the outside is wide open to attack!’_ Spider chuckled, and quickly they came upon the bridge, the Lan-Evo drifting too close to the side, and suddenly sliding out of control as it hits a small pocket of oil. He grinned evilly, quickly taking the lead as his opponent made to recover.

** _“Sucker! Your own trap cost you!”_ **

~0~

“The last part of the course is a mid-speed section with wide roads.” Ryousuke continued on. “It’s here that the speed range is raised a notch.”

“Wouldn’t that mean-”

“Kenta, for the love of the Outsiders, we’ve been over this.” Keisuke groaned.

“Huh?”

“The more their speed increases, the harder it becomes to accurately gauge braking, which increases the risk factor exponentially. Right, aniki?”

“Mm. On the downhill, the importance of technique over power increases in the high-speed areas.”

~0~

“THE IDIOT ISN’T BRAKING!” Ichijo yelled, nearly horrified, but was stunned silent as he watched the 86 drift easily into the corner, and suddenly vanish in a blur of white from his sight. Each corner after was the same story. “N… No way… I can’t… that kind of racing’s incredible…”

**_“Eat dust.”_ **Spider crooned triumphantly as his opponent vanished from his rearview.**_ “Never try to fuck with us like you did!”_**

Spider was bombarded by the Project as he exited the 86, Matsumoto immediately looking to check on it. Fumihiro was on the phone, looking more and more concerned, before hanging up.

“... we have five or six suspicious-looking cars en route.” he announced, catching everyone’s attention. “Ryousuke… w-what should we do?” Ryousuke was silent.

“Get everything packed, now. We have to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Team safety is our top priority. If it comes to it, Keisuke and I will remain behind to buy you all some time to get away.”

“R-Ryousuke-”

“I’d prepared for a situation like this happening at some point during expeditions. Keisuke and I have a plan.” he turned his eyes to Spider. “And, of course, the arachnid is free to stay as well. There is a reason Jorōgumo are as feared as they are.”

“I’m used to this sort of thing.” Keisuke said as he approached the van and pulled out a tire iron. “Don’t worry about it.” Fumihiro was silent.

“Alright. I’m putting my faith in you.”

“Good. And _no_ Kenta you’re not staying!” Kenta wilted visibly, before Fumihiro rallied everyone to begin packing. They were ready to bounce by the time the cars began to show.

“Everyone get in the vans!” Fumihiro yelled, and everyone but Spider, Keisuke, and Ryousuke were quick to get into the vehicles. Spider, against his better judgement, stepped back and let Keisuke handle the situation as the cars came to a stop and a great number of people with various weapons stepped from them. He heard Keisuke inhale, then begin taking steps forward, the tire iron settled on his shoulder.

“Aniki, love, both of you stay where you are.” Spider nodded his head and watched his mate go. He felt fear run up his spine as he watched Keisuke draw closer, closer, then coming to a stop, tilting his head as he lowered the iron. “Hell… _you’re_ the poor saps they called?”

“Keisuke?” one of the thugs sounded genuinely surprised. “It was so dark I didn’t know it was you! Despite the situation, it’s damn good to see you, sir!” the thugs all bowed at him, much to the rival team’s horror.

“You guys have_ these fuckwads_ as friends?” Keisuke asked, sounding exasperated. “You’re not keepin’ very good company, are ya?”

“Wellll… I wouldn’t go as far as to call them friends.” the thug grimaced. “We kinda… owed ‘em a favor… they haven’t done nothin’ rude to you, have they?”

“Completely.” Keisuke sounded amused. “But you don’t really have to worry about it now.” he twirled the iron. “More to the point, your cars are in the way. Move them please!”

“Of course!” the thug turned towards his underlings. “GET TO IT!” Keisuke made his way back over to the vans, putting the iron away as everyone got out.

“Keisuke… what the hell?” Fumihiro swore.

“Ahahaha, they’re cool.” he chuckled. “I know him from when I was younger… and much more careless. He was my otouto from back when I was a complete heathen.”

“Otouto?” Kenta parroted weakly.

“In any case, that was impressive, Keisuke. We can all go home safely now.” Keisuke smiled, then turned towards Spider and gestured him forward. The arachnid was quick to join his mate’s side, following Keisuke back over to the other end of the lot, ignoring the sound of engines turning on behind him as he watched the thug turn and glower at the rival team.

“You _really_ made me look bad. Just how the fuck do you not know who Keisuke Takahashi is, bitch!? And damn, Project D is so damn cool, everyone in Gunma knows about ‘em! Fuck, did you forget that _I’m from Gunma_!?”

“W-We didn’t know, I swear!” the thug growled.

“In a little bit, I’m gonna teach you fucks a lesson you’ll never forget!”

“Why wait?” Keisuke asked.

“Huh?”

“Why not do it now?” Keisuke smiled slowly. “Why not carve retribution from their flesh?” there was the sound of something landing behind them, and Spider turned to see a tall figure approach Ryousuke, who was the only member of Project D besides them left in the area.

“You’re fine with it?”

“Oh, of course, but do leave some for me.”

_**“And me.”** _Spider hissed, causing the three idiots to jump at the sound of his voice.

“Right. So have fun, do your part, carve payment from their hides, but in the end, they are _mine_. Understood?” the leader smiled cruelly, twirling his own weapon.

“Understood.”

~0~

Keisuke’s old acquaintance and his posse loomed closer to the three idiots in front of them. They were huddled up like a toddler holding two teddy bears from a couple of mean kids.

“Now then,” the leader hissed sweetly. “I’ve heard from a little birdie that you’ve done some nasty stuff now haven’t you?” He didn’t even let them answer, they were incapacitated by fear anyway. The gang loomed closer and in a snap of a finger, the members hoisted their weapons and went for the legs, as he said that they aren’t necessary for living. Each gang member got one leg, while the leader got both of Ichijo’s legs.

The scent of blood and crunch of bones got the trio excited for their turn, Keisuke and Spider both smelt Ryousuke on the dark winged figure, so they knew, he could be trusted, Ryousuke himself was seemingly okay with the bat creature joining in on the fun.

“The smell of fresh blood is getting me thirsty...“ the figure growled. Peeking under the hood, Keisuke noticed a pair of needle sharp canines - a vampire.

"The bastards’ blood would probably taste like hot shit, just like their personalities." Keisuke responded scathingly, not at the vampire but at the mention of those mortals instead.

“On point as always, just like your older brother.” So he does know his relation to Ryousuke, and it seems that their hatred for the Lan-Evo team was mutual. All the better, the more the merrier, as they say. Keisuke’s otouto turned around with a shit eating grin - they had their fun. As they left for their vehicles, the beaten up men finally found out that true hell was just about to start.

To enjoy some mental tormenting, they took their sweet time full shifting, and the hooded figure finally showed his face adorned with a wicked smile. The men on the ground started crying, terrified looks on their faces as their minds tried to comprehend what they were seeing. Keisuke chose Aikawa as his victim, Spider got Ichijo and the vampire was given the last fucktwit.

The moment the vampire heard a familiar ghostly voice start chanting for blood and death, he wasted no time and kicked the broken leg of the 'poor' sod to his side with the foot near his head. The mix of wails, sobs and screams fed his suppressed nature, and his tongue ran over those ever sharp teeth of his. Resting his foot and his weight on the man's chest, he caressed the right arm and ripped it off in one swoop, tossing it near Ryousuke. The sphinx looked vaguely amused by the action, looking at the limb with a slight tilt of the head. His curiosity took over as he eyes the blood on his hands, and he quickly licked fluid from his fingers, gagging at the taste. Keisuke was right, it tasted bland and disgusting.

_'There goes that feast attempt, and my appetite,'_ he thought. But the fun was far from over, he still had another arm, body and head to have fun with.

At the same time, Keisuke was enjoying his long awaited revenge, the bastard has been pissing him off for the longest time, not even the blonde dick was as despicable as Aikawa was. And now he is his little shitty prey.

"Time to see what this body can do…" he muttered as the Spider looked at him and gave him a smirk.

Unlike the vampire, he was sick of Aikawa's pissy voice and ripped off his jaw, now he was only capable of indistinct grunts, which made him sound more prey-like. He went the same route as the bat, starting with the arms, and he tugged both of them at the same time until they popped out of their sockets, but not enough to rip them off. He dropped them on his side limply, Aikawa was pretty much a goner considering the blood loss.

The Spider though, he was having fun with the mental torture, as if seeing the pain and suffering caused to his teammates wasn’t scarring enough. Spider was lurking real close to him, his fangs dripping venom like a rabid dog was dripping spit. Each of his limbs was pressing into Ichijo’s body, it felt like he was being staked as the narrow ends of Spider’s limbs pressed deep into his body. The venom was stinging when it happened to land on his wounds, and burned when it entered his bloodstream, it wouldn’t take too long for the potent neurotoxin to reach his heart and brain.

Soon growing bored of their prey, the three creatures finished with what they were doing and turned away, the sudden and highly eager cawing of the corvids around them suddenly catching their attention.

“So, they brought their crow friend along for the ride…” the vampire muttered, causing Spider to click curiously, before they all began to make their way back towards Ryousuke. They’d had their fun, and now it was time to go.

~0~

The corvids surrounding them crowed triumphantly as they were finally sent to clean up all the flesh and bones of the victims, an unforeseen cloud of rain washing away whatever blood was left on the ground. It was as if the Outsiders themselves didn’t want the world to know what had happened here on this night, only those who were there know the truth. And if need be, Outsiders can help them forget about it all.

Scurrying his way towards his mate, brother and the vampire, it was clear that Takumi won’t return for some hours or even the entire night, as a lot has happened while he was gone. Though, what was interesting was that Nejibana had found someone to talk to besides themselves: a baby bat that hung out with the vampire. So, tonight wasn’t as horrible at the end, Nejibana had found herself a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! You made it through! In the next chapter we will find out who this mysterious vampy boy is and we'll meet the Purple Shadow! (Gaysuke_Takahashi)


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the identity of the vampire is revealed and the burden he carries.

Spider didn't go home that night. Instead, he went home with the Takahashi siblings, and nearly collapsed in full shift on their living room floor, using a few of his limbs as a cushion to keep his head up. He remained there as Keisuke and Ryousuke hurried around, Keisuke himself complaining of smelling like, in his own words, "Horrid mortal blood", and his brother audibly snickering at him. Spider hesitated a second and actually sniffed his hands, grimacing harshly. Yeah, he did smell like blood.

There was a flutter of movement in his peripherals and he looked up in time to see the small bat his familiar befriended. It circled above him before coming in for a chaotic landing on his abdomen.

**_"Graceful."_ **he commented politely, and rose a brow as the small brown creature began squeaking excitedly.

"Tsuyoshi, you know that's rude." a familiar voice called from the doorway, and Spider turned to see the vampire who'd joined them standing there looking amused. The little bat squeaked some more. "No, little guy, you didn't conquer anything, especially a Jorōgumo." Spider snickered.

**_"We don't know about that…"_ **he drawled, catching the vampire's gaze. **_"He seems to have conquered something to us."_** Tsuyoshi let out a particularly loud squeak, and the vampire chuckled and shook his head in response as he came to sit beside the spider.

"Compared to your personality before, you're particularly docile." he pointed out, and Spider smiled lopsidedly.

**_"We are what we were."_** he responded, much to the vampire's interest. **_"What you see now is what we… is what I am not."_**

"Who is this _'we'_?"

**_"We are but mere instincts given sentience."_ **Spider's smile dropped a little, his pedipalps shifting. **_"We are not the one usually in control."_** the vampire looked surprised by this information and opened his mouth.

**"I see you two are getting along."** Ryousuke's voice called, and the sphinx walked into the room, his tail flicking. **"What are we talking about?"**

"The spider implied that he's got multiple spiders in his head."

**"Well, yeah. Spider's not the captain of that ship."** Ryousuke shrugged and settled on the couch.

"And how does that work, exactly?" he asked, causing Ryousuke to actually pause.

**"You know, I don't actually know myself. How _does_ that work, Spider?"** Spider himself began to click.

** _"We'll explain when mate is here. And after you tell us who your friend is."_ **

**"That can also be saved for when Keisuke enters the room."**

"What is he doing anyway?"

**"Trying to, and I quote, 'get the rancid smell of those fuckwads off his skin'."**

_**"It does smell terrible."**_ Spider agreed.

"Tasted as bad as well." the vampire added, and Spider winced.

_ **"Mate warned you."** _

"Never said he didn't."

**"Never said who didn't what?"** Keisuke's voice echoed, and Spider let out a chirp, surprisingly, as he came into the room and sat on his other side.

**_"Blood nasty."_** he responded quickly, and Keisuke nodded.

**"Yeah, I did warn you."** the vampire rolled his eyes.

**_"Okay, introductions."_ **Ryousuke let out an amused huff and clapped his hands together.

**"No patience. Everyone, this is Gou Hojo. Gou, my little brother and his mate."**

"A pleasure." Gou nodded at them, while Keisuke's head tilted.

**"Your name sounds… oddly familiar."** he commented, and Gou chuckled awkwardly.

**"You've heard the family name before, Keisuke. Don't worry about it."** Ryousuke was quick to interject. Keisuke continued to stare for a moment, before looking away and leaning back.

**"Alright."**

"Now that I've been introduced, tell me about your head situation." Gou said eagerly, and Spider chuckled. Nejibana took that moment to scuttle into the room and join Tsuyoshi on his abdomen.

** _"Well, there's a lot involved. Where do we start?"_ **

"Well, how many of you are there?" Ryousuke asked.

**_"Just two, Takumi and ourself."_** Spider adjusted his position. **_"You see, we aren't meant to be here. At all. It's supposed to be just Takumi, and we've come to terms with this. Jorōgumo aren't normally designed to have two consciousnesses in the same head."_**

"So... how did you even come around?"

** _"That one is a bit of a story. Before we even had a mate, we were just Takumi. A domestic spider living in the city with his nest. We'd gotten dragged into racing and yes we mean that, and had just defeated Takeshi Nakazato of the Myogi Nightkids. His second, a rather pushy creature named Shingo Shouji, didn't like that. At all."_ **

**"Went on a rampage around Akina, bumping racers, if I remember correctly."** Ryousuke commented.

**_"Bumping SpeedStars."_ **Spider amended. **_"They had been lucky enough to know Akina well enough to avoid any wrecks, but then he set his sights on Itsuki."_**

"Who-"

**"He's basically Takumi's little brother, except human."** Keisuke filled in.

_ **"Not really human anymore but that's a different topic. He'd targeted nest and put him in the hospital. We were angry, so very angry. The unhealthy kind."** _

**"Grudge territory."** Keisuke commented.

** _"He got us to agree to a race, and it was mid-race that we went from one to two. He bumped our 86, sent us into a spin. We fixed our position and recovered quickly, but Takumi was out like a light, and we were all that was left."_ **

**"To make an already long story shorter, Shingo got his ass beat by an angry spider, and Takumi went home with Spider as a passenger."**

_**"Mmm."**_ there was silence as everyone was allowed to process.

"So, how do you switch places?"

** _"It isn't that hard. We just, switch. It's like a push and pull. One of us want out, so we tug on the one in control. If willing, he falls back and suddenly, there's someone new in charge."_ **

"Is it odd, watching from eyes you can't control?"

** _"Ish? We're naturally distracted by what's inside the head anyway so we don't usually care to notice?"_ **

**"And what does that mean, what's inside the head?"** Ryousuke asked.

** _"It is as it sounds. When there's more than one consciousness in your head, your subconscious instinctually comes up with surroundings you all are most comfortable with. For us, it's a softly lit forest coated in spider silk. It makes for a lovely nest, you know."_ **

"So you have a whole other world in your head?"

_ **"Of a sorts."** _

**"Is that where Takumi is right now?"** Keisuke asked.

** _"Yep. He's… doing something, I can't quite tell what though."_ **

_'Organizing.'_

_ **"He said he's organizing."** _

**"And that means… what, exactly?"** Ryousuke asked.

**_"Well, if you didn't notice, we went a tad bit… feral a little bit ago. That easily wrecks anything the two of us have set up in here."_** he knocks on his head. **_"So he's just working to fix it."_**

"That's fair." Gou shrugged, before stretching and flopping backwards to lean against the couch, his arm grazing against Ryousuke and recoiling away quickly. Spider's eyes immediately narrowed at the action.

**"So, what's the plan for the night?"**

**_"We would like to cleanse ourselves of tonight's activities."_** Spider said quickly, reaching behind himself with two limbs to gently grab the two familiars and remove them from himself so he could stand. **_"Do you mind if we do that?"_**

**"Knock yourself out."** Keisuke waved him off, and Spider nodded thankfully as he headed out of the room and towards the stairs. As the Spider left the room, a silence fell upon them. It was cold, yet serene, like an early winter morning after the first snow of the season. Keisuke sat next to Gou, the latter adjusting his position as to make room for Keisuke, yet making sure he didn’t touch Ryousuke.

**_'Strange…'_** Keisuke thought before deciding to start up the conversation again.** “So, aniki, how did you two meet?”**

**“Well, Keisuke…”**

It was much later in the night when Spider finally emerged from the bathroom, the sound of soft conversation coming from the living room, and shuffling from the balcony by the end of the hall. He turned and caught sight of Gou, and approached.

“... just don’t know what to do, Tsuyoshi.”

**_“Don’t know what to do about what?”_** Spider asked gently, and Gou jumped despite the tone.

“Oh… it’s just you…” he placed a hand over his heart, and Spider cracked an apologetic smile.

** _“Apologies.”_ **

“It was no big deal, I’m fine.” Spider shrank his size a little and joined the vampire on the balcony.

** _“If you say so. What are you stuck on?”_ **

“Oh… I’m not sure I should-” Gou cut himself off and clicked his tongue. “It’s very personal.” Spider let out a sound of comprehension.

**_“It’s the compatibility mark, isn’t it?”_ **the vampire looked very alarmed by his words.

“How do you-”

**_“We saw you yank your arm away from Ryousuke very forcefully.”_** he said. **_“It doesn’t take a genius to comprehend the implications of such an action.”_** there was a small swath of silence.

“Yeah.” Gou finally broke, wilting a little. “It’s about the mark.”

_ **“Why not just tell him?”** _

“That’s something I don’t think I can do right now.”

_ **“And why is that?”** _

“I… I just can’t, alright? It’s personal. It’d be… awkward.”

**_“It’s always awkward.”_** Spider waved him off. **_“Marks are serious business and even the most serious of creatures falter when bringing them up.”_**

“I don’t think you’re getting my point-”

**_“We are.”_** Spider’s tone caused Gou’s jaw to snap shut. **_“From what Ryousuke said to Keisuke, your family name has been mentioned enough times in the Takahashi household for mate to remember, if even vaguely. Your families are connected in some way, some way that you seem wary of, and it’s keeping you from talking about it with him.”_** Gou looked surprised by his words.

“You… got it in one. How…?”

**_“Context clues. Even if our husk is nineteen years old, our consciousness is way older, thus we are more experienced and wiser when it comes to such things.”_** was the vague response as Spider shrugged. Gou blinked at that.

“... how does that even work?”

**_“No clue, actually. We don’t have knowledge of that. Genetic memory, maybe?”_** Spider looked thoughtful at that before shrugging again. **_“We just know, let’s leave it at that.”_** they sat in silence for a little while longer, listening to the sounds of the wind and nearby wind chimes, then Spider suddenly turned to the vampire.

_“I do hope you can get past this and talk it out with Ryousuke.”_ a different voice said to him, and Gou noticed a change in the arachnid’s eyes, which were now more hazel in color than black pits. _“Spider hopes so too.”_ and with that, Takumi had returned to the forefront and was back in the house before Gou could respond. A soft smile lingered on his face for a few moments before his gaze returned to Tsuyoshi.

“Me too.” he muttered ruefully. “Me too.” and the small baby bat crawled on his arm onto his shoulder to give him a hug in a sense. Getting there would be tough but… maybe he could do it. He hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

~0~

That night found Takumi back in Shibukawa and at the gas station, sitting inside with Itsuki as he looked over his smaller friend.

“T-Takumi, chill out.” Itsuki stuttered, and Takumi huffed at him.

“No, you look like death warmed over.” he was right, Itsuki’s eyes looked slightly bruised and his skin was beginning to look particularly pale. “How’s the arm feeling?”

“Like it’s about to fall off.” Itsuki responded flatly, and the arachnid leveled him with a look. “Don’t give me that look, damn it!” he swatted at his friend. “Shoo! Quit crowding me!” Takumi retreated, for now, and sat across from his friend. “What are you even doing here? Don’t you have practice or something!?”

“Nope.” Takumi responded jovially. “Have the whole week off.”

“The whole week!?” Itsuki looked taken aback. “Not even an expedition?”

“No expeditions. Keisuke’s car was busted, and it’ll take a while to get it fixed, so until then we’re all on break.”

“That Saitama trip sounds like it was a handful.” Iketani called as he walked into the store.

“More than you’d know.” Takumi flashed a feral smile. “Horrible bunch they were, coating the course with oil and such.”

“You’ll run into those kinds of people when you travel across the whole country.” Iketani nodded as he sat beside Takumi.

“Well, I’d never thought someone would attack us during a practice run, of all things.” a dark smile settled on his face. “That’s the last mistake they’ll ever make.” Iketani looked taken aback by that statement.

“You don’t mean you-”

“I mean every word.” the wolf gulped and slid away from him slightly. “Besides that, the whole scenario taught me to never let my guard down during an expedition.”

“You won anyway, right?” Itsuki asked, and grinned widely when Takumi nodded. “Excellent! I knew you’d win! You always win! You’ve lost a lot of that newbie shine, I’ll say!” Takumi couldn't help but smile faintly, it takes a lot to be so excited while going through what Itsuki was.

“I can agree.” Iketani said. “But the fact that Takumi has kept on winning ever since he first began must be weighing on him a lot. It’s gotta be a lot of pressure.”

“Keisuke won with his brother’s FC, you know, since his FD was damaged. It made me realize that he’s even more amazing than I’d thought he was. He’s always so determined to win that even a difference in vehicle won’t phase him. I’m trying really hard to keep up with him… so you could say that it’s quite a bit of pressure on me.” Iketani let out a vaguely sad sound.

“Sounds rough.”

“Yeah.” Itsuki agreed. “I don’t think either of us could even begin to imagine such a thing.”

“Yeah…” Iketani trailed off, before his eyes widened and he shot a look at Itsuki. “Oi, what do you mean, _‘we’_!?” Itsuki laughed at the response, and Takumi felt a little relieved.

He’d be okay, if he could be this happy and excitable like this. Looks like nothing would squash that terrific spirit of his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Love. Vampy boye. Also, hello! I'm starting to feel much better, and as such, I'm back to writing! (Kiyana)
> 
> Also, it was really fun to write together with Kiyana! (Gaysuke_Takahashi)
> 
> Edit: 2/5/20


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which two god-like drivers of Purple Shadow show up to take on Project D.

Akagi once more echoed the sounds of a rotary as the newly revived FD flew down the road like a yellow lightning bolt. It wouldn't take too long for rumors to start circulating, rumors of a bright yellow FD sporting a wing instead of a spoiler, no popup headlights to increase aerodynamics and a wider body to increase handling. Keisuke allowed Takumi to ride shotgun as he got the feel for his upgraded car, he trusts the spider with this kind of thing, he is his Jorōgumo after all. Keisuke let out an excited sound, like a mix between a very Itsuki-esque squeal and a laugh.

**“This is _awesome_!”** he shouted, causing Takumi to smile a little. **“With this setup, there’s no way in hell I’ll lose to a Lancer Evo or a GTR! OR ANYTHING!”** his excitement was contagious, and Takumi found himself feeling giddy at the prospect of seeing this revived vehicle race. He could feel the differences even now, he could hear the change. The FD both felt and sounded more powerful than before.

It was exhilarating.

Keisuke came to a stop back atop Akagi, his eyes wide and his breathing slightly heavy as the two stepped out.

“Verdict?” Fumihiro’s voice called from above, and the siren landed beside Takumi with hardly a sound.

**“It feels _amazing_.”** Keisuke said breathily. **“Plenty of horsepower, and the torque really kicks in at the mid-level RPMs, making it easier to drive. It’s high-speed cornering has dramatically improved as well.”** Takumi nodded along with his words as Keisuke approached the back end of his FD and sat a hand on the new wing.** “I think it’s because of the wide body, but this wing is pretty effective as well. Corners I once couldn’t open up the accelerator on when oversteering are now completely stable.”** Keisuke grinned excitedly again, his teeth bared wildly. **“With this, I feel like I don’t have to fear anyone!”**

_“Everything he says is true.”_ Takumi cut in easily._ “I’ve been in Keisuke’s FD before, and I could **feel** how different it is now. More powerful, smoother. It feels like it and Keisuke can take on any challenge.”_ Fumihiro rose both brows slightly and crossed his arms, an easy smile crossing his face.

“Well, the timing couldn’t be better then, huh? According to Ryousuke, your next opponent will be your toughest yet.”

**“Tougher than even the Toudou School?”** Keisuke asked, his arm falling from the wing.

“That’s what he said.”

**“Well, then I look forward to it! I wonder just what kind of racer they’ll be.”** he looked back down at his FD, and Takumi felt vague excitement rise in his chest again.** “I was thinking about getting into a good, solid scuffle of a race, since Saitama was pretty much just a string of small-time opponents. That being said, there were some good moments for me.”** Takumi nearly snickered at Keisuke’s tone.** “I was able to tackle some of the tasks I’d been given at a leisurely pace.”**

“Saitama could be thought of as just training.” Fumihiro commented. “A place for improvement of your skills before the next. Without a doubt, you _have_ improved.” Takumi nodded in agreement.

**“I guess you’re right.”** Keisuke shifted his stance. **“And anyway, this expedition was a memorable one. To me, it wasn’t too exciting but it was rich in content. I doubt I’ll ever forget it.”**

“Good.” Fumihiro’s easy smile widened. “Then I’m glad.” they were all silent for a moment, listening to the wind and the late night animals and insects call out. Takumi settled himself onto the ground for a moment to rest his limbs.

**“Say, Fumihiro?”**

“Hmm?”

**“Do you think aniki calculates all of this when deciding where we go next to race?”** there was more silence.

“Probably.” the siren finally responded, and Keisuke let out a slightly exasperated chuckle. “All of Ryousuke’s decisions have a reason behind them.”

**“I know that.”** Keisuke shook his head. **“Sometimes though… I wonder if Takumi and I are like… just kids to him or something.”**

“I wouldn’t worry about that kinda thing.” Fumihiro commented immediately. “It’ll bog you down if you do.”

**“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”** Keisuke sat himself beside his mate and stared up at the night sky. **“It can be pretty annoying… but I guess I’ve got myself one hell of an older brother.”**

_“Mmm.”_ Takumi couldn’t help but to agree. _“Not to suddenly change topics, but where even is our next expedition?”_

**“Ibaraki, right?”** they both looked to Fumihiro, who nodded. **“Good. No matter who we face, I don’t think either of us will lose. And with my upgraded FD, I’ll race so fast it’ll make aniki’s head spin!”**

~0~

“Didja hear?” came a whisper. Other voices echoed around gently, all down in hushed tones and murmurs. A brown pair of ears rotated around, picking up all the various noises.

“Yeah. Joshima and Hoshino are coming. That itself is odd.” came another.

“I know. The two leaders of Purple Shadow coming together… just what’s going on?”

“Didn’t you hear? Project D is on their way!” the ears stopped their rotating and pointed straight at the one speaking.

“Project D?” the ears began rotating once again as this creature rose a hand to begin fidgeting at his antlers. “They plan to take them on?”

“No way.” his friend said with a shaky certainty. “One of the younger members’ll take care of it. Right?” a pair of long, sandy yellow ears, wilted and flopped over. “I mean… there’s no way either of them would go out in a race. They’re both… they shouldn’t!”

“I dunno... I’d thought that Project D were just a bunch of kids, but now, when the racers known as God Hand and God Foot are getting involved… I don't think that Project D is such an easy opponent anymore… and I don’t think they’ll be letting any of us race in their place."

“B-But-” the dual revs of two engines cut them off as a jade GTR and a blue S2000 pulled into the lot.

“Shh! They’re here!”

“I can see that, dumb deer!” they both fell silent as the driver side doors of both cars opened and the two stepped out, both making for vaguely intimidating sights with their wings out like they are. They locked eyes, an amused and sly smile coming across the face of the S2000’s driver.

“Your stomach seems to be bulging again, Hoshino.” he stated jestingly. “You better lower your cholesterol or your grip on humanity will leave you.” Hoshino scoffed.

“Leave me alone.” he chuckled. “‘Fatten up, then slim down,’ that’s my motto, and you know it, Joshima. I ain’t about to lose my humanity any time soon! Besides, I make it a point not to listen to any medical advice.” Joshima laughed, particularly amused, and lightly tapped his friend in the stomach.

“That’s a good one!” he chortled. “May the Lady save you then, you crazy idiot.” Hoshino laughed as well.

“So. Project D.” his wings tensed open a little as he spoke. “It’s been a while since I’ve felt my blood race like this.” his friend hummed agreeably.

“This may be the folly of a couple of middle-aged Seraph street racers, but I’m most definitely looking forward to it.”

“Ah…” the two Seraphs turned their attention towards the small crowd gathered before them, their eyes locking on the creature who’d spoken, causing the sandy yellow ears to flop back over once more due to anxiety. “Are you two planning to actually participate?” he asked, and another Purple Shadow member stepped up beside him.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Of course!” Hoshino exclaimed good naturedly. “Why? Is there something odd about that?”

“N-no, not _strange_, but… our opponents are basically kids, aren’t they?” Joshima caught sight of the deer creature’s slight frown at those words and took note silently. “Is there really a need for either of you to participate?”

“Now now, Project D is kind enough to come all the way here from _Gunma_, you know. Responding to such a thing as we are is just a matter of common courtesy, don’t you think?” Joshima tilted his head.

“True… they are coming all the way here… but it’s not like we asked them to.”

“C’mon.” Hoshino almost groaned. “Don’t say that. If that’s the case, you should just keep quiet and let us do this our way.” he shifted. “It’s not as if we’re vain enough to think we’re the absolute greatest there is. When Purple Shadow was first formed, we taught you guys a lot of different things, but now, I don’t think we could even keep up with you youngsters.”

“You’ve gotta be joking!” the rabbit eared one exclaimed.

“Yeah! We still don’t come anywhere close to either of you!”

“Don’t be so modest!” Hoshino beamed. “You’ve stood on the winner’s podium at the Tsukuba amateur circuit race any number of times!”

“And besides,” Joshima cut back in. “We really like this sort of thing. Even at our age such activities can make us feel like kids again.” he cut himself off at the end there as he turned towards his friend. “So, should we bang out more laps?”

“Never say it like that again.” Hoshino was quick to respond, causing his friend to snicker. “But yeah, gotta shake off some more of these cobwebs, right?” and with that, the two turned back to their cars and were gone before their team could say a word.

“So… who wants to bet that they’re mates?” someone from the side said hesitantly, and the human at the front sighed.

“Good gods.” he groaned, tuning out the sound of a hand colliding with the back of someone else’s head. “What a joke. ‘Cobwebs,’ my foot. Those to are always polished to razor-sharp precision.”

“Right.” the deer said as he came to stand beside the human. “‘God Arm’ Joshima Toshia, named for his godlike handling capabilities, and ‘God Foot’ Hoshino Kouzou, named for his superhuman ability to work the accelerator.” the deer sighed.

“Both have fought through countless fierce battles… they’re the gods of the mountain pass!”

~0~

Takumi groaned blearily as the sound of the phone echoed up to his room, his eyes slowly trailing to his clock to peek at the time but his vision too blurry to make anything out.

_“Dad!”_ he yelled as he got up, and frowned when he received no response. _“DAD!”_ still no answer. He groaned and headed down stairs, turning on the light with a yawn. _“Stupid dad, not being home. Jeez.”_ he grumbled agitatedly before pulling the phone off the hook and mustering up the most customer appropriate tone he could manage. _“Hello, Fujiwara Tofu Shop.”_

_“Takumi, it’s me, Wataru.”_ Takumi’s eyes widened a little.

_“Wataru? What are you calling me about?”_

_“I’m in the area, and was wondering if you wanted to hang out for a little. Get something to eat, or something.”_ Takumi was stunned silent for a moment.

_“A-Ah… yeah, okay sure, I guess.”_ he finally responded, and Wataru gave a vaguely relieved sigh on his end.

_“Great, almost thought I’d have to go back to Saitama and deal with Kazumi. So not in the mood.”_ Takumi resisted the urge to laugh. They spoke for a short while longer before Takumi hung up and glanced at the wall clock.

It was almost one in the morning.

_“Outsiders.”_ he groaned, before retrieving his keys and heading to his 86.

It wasn’t hard at all to find Wataru’s Levin, there was practically only one place in Shibukawa still open at this time of night, that he knew of at least, and he was parked and inside in only a matter of a few minutes.

“Soooo…” Wataru trailed as Takumi sat across from him. “For one, thank you for giving me an excuse to stay out here.”

“No problem.” he said as a waitress sat down a glass of water for him.

“Outside of that, do you have any idea where your next expedition will be?” Takumi took a drink of his water.

“Ibaraki.” he finally responded as he sat the glass down.

“Ah.” was his only reply as he took a drink of coffee. They sat in silence for a moment.

“Y’know, I should thank you for the conversation the other day.” Takumi broke the silence and caught Wataru’s eye. “I feel like you have me a really important hint, and I’m really grateful.” Wataru leaned back and smiled a little at that.

“Good. Makes me pretty happy to hear that.” they were silent again. “Just how good was my hint, as you call it?”

“More than good.” Takumi leaned forward a little. “Recently, I feel that I’ve finally started to understand my 86 again.”

“Huh?” Wataru’s expression shifted oddly, and Takumi felt his right eye twitch. “Takumi, we normal creatures can’t understand what you say sometimes.”

“And just what the hell does that mean!?”

“It means as it sounds.”

“That’s rude. And anyway, I mean it, I’ve sort of understand it. How to race in order to bring out the 86’s full potential, I mean.” Wataru blinked and shifted, giving Takumi his full attention. “What I should do when tackling a course for the first time, how to get the right underbody balance point, one by one I’ve been slowly coming to understand those things.” Wataru chuckled a little, obviously amused by Takumi’s words.

“Well, I guess that’s what they call progress.” he shrugged before taking another sip of his coffee. “As for me, I have absolutely no Earthly clue as to how you’ve been able to race as you have without knowing a damn thing.”

“Other people have said that.” Takumi muttered. “I might lose someday, but I’m certain I’ll have learned more by the time that comes to pass.” they sat in silence once again, listening to the sound of dishes clanking in the kitchen and quiet chatter echoing from the staff.

“Uh…” Wataru finally spoke again, catching Takumi’s attention. “How… how’s Itsuki?” Takumi smiled softly.

“The full moon was last week, he managed to get through it just fine. He and Iketani have mended any burnt bridges, it seems, and are giving courtship a try.”

“Really?” at Takumi’s earnest nod, Wataru let out a sigh of relief. “Good. At least my mistake had at least one good result.”

~0~

“What’s with the extra support van?” Matsumoto asked curiously as everyone prepared to head out, his ears swiveling around. Tomiguchi stood beside him, his hair up and a neutral expression on his face.

“Ryousuke and I wrote up a list of the things we’ll need for this trip, and concluded that three vans won’t be enough. That’s the kind of opponent we’re up against this time around, it’s simpler to think about it that way.” Fumihiro stretched his wings wide. “Everyone get a good stretch in, we’ll be traveling a long way this time, so everyone please drive safely!”

“Right!” everyone agreed at once, and Matsumoto walked off with Tomiguchi.

“So, kitty cat, what’s with the ponytail? Compensating for your lack of a tail in general?”

“Shut it, you one-tailed menace!” Tomiguchi groaned, rolling his eyed as he opened a van door. “I so do have an Outsiders be damned tail! It’s just naturally short!” the kitsune grinned at that, he knew that, bob-tails always have shorter than average tails, but that didn't mean he was gonna let his friend win.

“I’ll believe that when I see it, lap cat.” Matsumoto teased, and Tomiguchi chuckled.

“I’ll show you a damn tail, bush dog!” Tomiguchi ended with a grin and slammed the door.

“I’m not even a canine, you damn feline!” Matsumoto yelled, amused, before heading over to his own van and getting in, starting it up just as the line of vehicles began to move.

Sometimes, you had to have a bit of a back and forth with a cat before heading out. It’s cathartic.

~0~

“Did you hear about Project D’s next opponent, boss?” Toudou didn’t respond as he lit a cigarette, allowing Sakai to speak without prompt. “I heard it’s Purple Shadow, up in Ibaraki.”

“Is it now?”

“What’s more, the two leaders of the team itself will be the ones to face Project D.” Toudou actually rose his brows at that.

“Well now, that’s quite a surprise. Never thought those two’d get involved in something like this again…” he pondered for a moment before crossing his arms. “If you two have the time, you should go and watch that race.” a surprised hiss left Sakai’s mouth as Daiki stepped forward, his ears flicking.

“Is Purple Shadow really that good?” the tanuki asked, and Sakai was quick to turn to him.

“Daiki, you may not know this, but even Mr. Toudou acknowledges Hoshino and Joshima as his betters.”

“He does?” Sakai turned away and looked back as Toudou.

“Do you think Project D has any chance at winning?”

“Every race boils down to luck. No one can know just what’ll happen. Instead of tryin’ to predict somethin’ like that, you should think about how _you_ would take them on, and then watch what Project D does to face this giant wall that stands before them. It’ll make for a good learnin’ experience.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wataru is my favorite he'll stay my favorite I'm giving him more lines because I'm BIASED (Kiyana)
> 
> I'm dying over the Purple Shadow banter dfsgdhf (Gaysuke_Takahashi)
> 
> Edit: 2/5/20


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which God Foot makes an interesting proposal for the uphill race and Keisuke and Takumi learn more about each other in the inn.

Brown ears swiveled once more as Purple Shadow sat, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Project D. His friend was on the ground beside him, yellow ears flopped over as he breathed rhythmically.

“Of course he’s asleep.” the deer grumbled, before the sound of engines caught his attention and he kicked his friend particularly roughly in the arm with a back hoof. “Get up, rabbit, they’re here!” his friend was up immediately, rubbing his arm but not complaining, even though their human friend was trying to hold back his laughter.

Six vehicles pulled into the lot, led by the FD and the 86 and followed by four vans. They came to a stop and a crew was quick to get out and get set up, much quicker then the racers, whom of which got out and immediately began conversing, the sunny yellow oni, because what else could he be, having his arms crossed, and the other making slightly exaggerated gestures with three pairs of hands. The oni chuckled, causing the other to turn away with a slight huff, looking vaguely flushed, revealing a set of red pedipalps, before his eyes locked on Joshima and Hoshino and widened dramatically. A vaguely anxious expression crossed his face as his mouth set into a line, but he neither opened his mouth nor looked away in any way that could be taken as rude. Instead, he presented them with a small, hesitant smile before turning back to the oni, who’s expression was now particularly concerned.

“What’s all that about?” the human asked, turning towards his friends.

“That racer, he seems to be a Jorōgumo.” the rabbit stated softly.

“A demon creature.” the deer tacked on, more for the human’s sake than anything else. “And he’s likely full blooded too. Full blooded demon creatures are naturally very wary of Seraphs.” the three watched as the two racers and two other people approached Joshima and Hoshino.

“Is there any particular reason for that?” the human asked, and the deer shrugged.

“Beats me, none of us are demon creatures.”

“I think it has something to do with who Seraph’s are descended from.” the rabbit spoke.

“And that is…?”

“No idea.” the human sighed in defeat. Maybe this was what he got for being friends with two mortal creatures.

“Gotcha.” Hoshino’s voice echoed in their direction, and the three turned to watch. “We’ll do our part to make sure things run smoothly!” one of the four from Project D, a Sphinx from the look of him, visibly relaxed.

**“Excellent.”** he said, sounding grateful as his bowed a little. **“Thank you very much.”** the other three mimicked the Sphinx and parroted his words before they all made their way back to the vans.

“Well, aren’t they a polite bunch?” Hoshino asked rhetorically.

“Much nicer than I’d thought.” Joshima agreed. “Their homepage is pretty confrontational, so I’d assumed they’d be cocky little shits.”

“I like ‘em!” Hoshino exclaimed. “I’ll return their courtesy by giving this challenge my all.” a small smile adorned Joshima’s face.

“Agreed. It seems that, for the first time in a while, we’ll be having a good night.”

Matsumoto kept the two Seraphs in his peripherals, feeling slightly anxious about all this. His tail twitched and his gaze turned to Takumi, who was looking just as wary as he felt.

**“Alright you two.”** Ryousuke called, and the two racers moved over towards him. **“Five laps at eighty percent, just as always. Be sure about yourselves, and concentrate.”** the two nodded and hurried to their cars, taking off immediately and leaving them all behind.

**“Whoooa…”** he heard Kenta say excitedly, and turned to see the orange dragon situated atop the back of a van, his claws lightly latched onto the edge as he peered into the vehicle.** “Van four is nearly filled to the top with spare tires… and a moped? What’s the moped for?”**

“Well,” Fumihiro began as Tomiguchi came to stand beside Matsumoto. “That’s for the drivers to use.”

**“Huh?”** Kenta tilted his head.

“I thought I’d have the two of them scout the course tomorrow evening, while it’s still light out. Because of its slower speed, and the fact that it’s more of a bike than anything, it’ll make it easier to spot fractures or small slopes in the road’s surface.” Kenta made a sound and tilted his head in the other direction. “That way, you can come up with strategies for courses where even the slightest variable counts. Walking the course is really the best way, but this is what Ryousuke came up with, so it’s one of the new approaches we’ll be using from now on.”

“Ryousuke sure does come up with a lot of ideas, doesn’t he?” Matsumoto commented easily, catching Fumihiro’s attention.

“That he does.” he chuckled. “I suppose this means if we stick with the same approach as always, we won’t improve…” as Fumihiro trailed off, Matsumoto looked back towards the Seraphs, then away again.

_‘Just ignore them.’_ he thought to himself.

~0~

Ryousuke watched as Matsumoto worked on Takumi’s 86, said spider seated in the vehicle, looking restless.

“Alright… all done.” he heard Matsumoto say as the kitsune stood and stretched before setting a hand on the car’s roof. “I think this tire set up will give you a good, clean ride. Just make sure you keep a close eye on your traction, alright?”

_“Right.”_ Takumi nodded. _“I’m off.”_ and with that he drove away.

**“So,”** Ryousuke began, approaching the kitsune as he turned towards him. **“How is it, Matsumoto?”**

“It’s in great shape.” Matsumoto answered honestly. “Takumi seems to be in great shape as well. He requested specific settings, you know. It seems like he’s got a handle on something we don’t know about yet.” Matsumoto smiled fondly. “He’s come a long way since last year. He’s different even compared to Saitama.”

**“That he has.” **Ryousuke agreed.** “There were times in Saitama where he was quite conflicted. I don’t know what about, that’s something he’s kept to himself it seems. But, I guess Takumi’s been practicing quite a lot, even in ways we haven’t seen. He’s definitely getting a handle on something.”** Matsumoto hummed in agreement. **“Win or lose, after this race that spider will experience sudden, explosive growth, Matsumoto. It almost makes me nervous.”** they stood there in silence for a while, neither needing to talk.

After a while, Keisuke returned from his run, Kenta making a slightly impressed sound at the sight of the FD.

**“Keisuke’s FD has gotten so flashy.”** he awed.

“I’ll let you know that the exterior is one hundred percent to Keisuke’s tastes.” Fumihiro responded firmly.

“Opinion?” Tomiguchi asked as he approached the oni.

**“The slopes on this course are steeper than I’d thought, so tire balance is currently relying too much on the rear.”**

“So… raise the back area a bit?”

**“Yes, please.”** Tomiguchi nodded and immediately hopped to it, allowing Keisuke to meander off towards the van and grab a water bottle. Movement caught Matsumoto’s eye, and he turned in time to see one of the Seraphs approaching Keisuke. The slight anxiety he’d felt before returned with a vengeance.

“You’re Keisuke Takahashi, right?” the Seraph asked, and Keisuke nodded. The Seraph cocked him a toothy smile. “There are rumors flying around about you, mostly from some particularly high pitched voices. You seem to be pretty popular with the ladies.” genuine confusion crossed Keisuke’s face, and the other Seraph put a hand on his face and shook his head. “Y’know, I used to be pretty popular too, when I was younger. You’ve got this aura about you, so I can tell.” a slightly put out expression crossed his face. “Youth ain’t somethin’ you can get back. Well, not easily in any case.”

**“Wh-”**

“You start gettin’ all squishy once you hit middle age. Or, at least I did!” the Seraph laughed as he squished his stomach, and Keisuke’s expression merely became much more confused and lost. He obviously wasn’t following the conversation at all. Matsumoto heard Ryousuke try to hold back snickers.

**“Wh… what’s the point of this conversation?”** Keisuke asked nervously, and the Seraph paused.

“Not this, originally… what did I come over here for?” the other Seraph looked ready to sit on the ground at the interaction, as both hands were now on his face and his wings were surrounding him like he wanted to hide. “Oh yeah! I’ve got an important proposal to make about tomorrow’s race.” Keisuke’s expression shifted from lost and confused to focused as the topic swerved into a direction he could at least understand given the circumstances.

**“What’s this proposal of yours?”** he asked.

“Ah, how should I put this…? Well, normally, a mountain pass has both an uphill _and_ a downhill. In my case, I haven’t tuned my car thinking about _only _the uphill, since aiming for total balance is the mark of a true racer, right? That’s why I’d like to propose that, just for our race, we opt against an uphill-only stage?”

**“You mean, race on both the uphill and downhill?”**

“Exactly!” Keisuke narrowed his eyes a little, the red orb in them glowing fiery hot, and Ryousuke and Matsumoto locked eyes for a moment. The oni turned to look at Ryousuke, obviously asking permission, and the sphinx nodded after releasing a sigh.

**“Alright, I accept your proposal. I’m excited to see how this turns out.”**

“Excellent! I appreciate it, and am looking forward to our race.” the Seraph’s wings shifted as he turned and left with a polite wave, and Keisuke immediately walked over to Ryousuke and Matsumoto.

**“That was very odd.”** he said, and Ryousuke nodded, obviously amused.

**“That it was. I’ll admit, though, I didn’t expect him to propose such a thing, but it may in fact work in our favor.”** Ryousuke’s tail swayed. **“Hats to him, for a most fair proposition made.”** Ryousuke turned to look at Keisuke, who looked particularly startled. **“He’s a formidable opponent, Keisuke.”**

~0~

Keisuke yawned loudly as he leaned against a rail, Takumi seated on the ground beside him as the sun began peaking over the horizon.

**“Outsiders, I’m exhausted.”**

_“You and me both.”_ Takumi responded tiredly, setting his head on his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs. Keisuke glanced down at his mate and quirked a smile at him, before reaching down with one of his arms and setting a hand on Takumi’s head, running his fingers through his hair, causing him to let out a purr. _“I’m not a pet, Keisuke, quit.”_

**“Says the guy who just purred at me.”** Keisuke teased, and Takumi shifted his head to shoot him a halfhearted glare. Keisuke didn’t bother to mention that Takumi wasn’t even moving to stop his actions.

“I’m not interrupting something, am I?” Fumihiro’s obviously unamused voice caught their attention, and they both turned to look at him.

**“Not at all.”** Keisuke said, removing his hand, eliciting a squeak of displeasure from Takumi, and nearly reacted to the tiny growl that followed after. **“What’s up?”**

“Ryousuke wanted me to inform you that you both will be staying at a bed-and-breakfast at the foot of the mountain.”

**“What?”** they both stood up as Ryousuke made his way over.

“That’s right.” Fumihiro chirped. “You both get a good night’s rest in an air-conditioned room.”

**“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but why just us?”**

“Because you’re both the drivers, of course.” Fumihiro stated.

_“B-But, I’ll be perfectly fine without that!”_ Takumi stated, his limbs all up and waving as he spoke._ “I find sleeping in the 86 to be comfortable, anyway! You guys should have the room instead.”_ Ryousuke looked slightly ticked off by Takumi’s response.

**“Absolutely not.”** he responded. **“This is my order as team leader.”** Takumi let out a vague sound of surprise as Ryousuke pressed on. **“We’re at that time of year when the days are excruciatingly hot, and it becomes practically unbearable to sleep inside a car.”** Takumi’s expression shifted at that, looking unamused by the reasoning. **“It’s important you both be well rested to preserve your powers of concentration for tomorrow’s race.”**

“Exactly. It’s important that you guys get your beauty rest. You know, for the sake of the team.” the way Fumihiro said that made Takumi’s eye twitch. “I’ll be taking you both there, so gather up your things and hop in van one.” Takumi clicked his tongue, but walked to his 86 anyway to get a few things out. As he and Keisuke made their way to the van, Ryousuke managed to catch his brother’s eye, and winked. Keisuke’s eyes widened and his ears turned red, before he quickly turned away and moved towards the van just a little faster than before, much to Ryousuke’s amusement.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you.” Matsumoto asked Ryousuke quietly as the van door shut and Fumihiro drove off. “Putting them together in a room. Alone.”

**“They’ve been skirting around each other for almost a year now, Matsumoto, and I’m tired of it. Either they work something out with their courtship, or I lose my mind.”** Matsumoto chuckled at his plight.

“Some creatures take courting slower than others, Ryousuke.” he said. “But maybe you’re right.”

~0~

**“Fumihiro said he’d come and pick us back up sometime around four.”** Keisuke said as he flopped onto the floor ungracefully, much to Takumi’s vague amusement. His clothes were also piled up haphazardly above the mattress.

_“That allows us quite a bit of time to sleep then.”_ he responded passively.

**“Yeah, and I can’t help but feel bad for the others. Despite that, I am grateful to be able to stretch out and sleep like this.”**

_“This is the first time this has happened, right? Since we started the expeditions, I mean.”_ Keisuke hummed affirmative, and both were silent for a moment.

**“This course will make it hard to go on the offensive.”** Keisuke broke the silence. **“It’s pretty short, but it has some points that are hard to nail down.”**

_“Lots of corners with lazy turns and no visible exit point.”_ Takumi tacked on, and Keisuke nodded.

**“The roads have lots of twists… it doesn’t seem like a race that’ll be settled sooner rather than later.”** Takumi hummed in agreement. He turned to face Keisuke, who was already facing him, his chest showing through his loosely bound yukata. For all the time they’ve been together, he has never seen Keisuke like this. His pectoral muscles were more defined than he’d thought. He he could tell that Spider’s gaze was locked onto the exposed area, and was clearly interested in doing something to it.

_“Wow…”_ was all Takumi could mutter, which cause Keisuke to flush red, and when Takumi noticed his mate’s rosy cheeks, his own face heated up and his mind ran. He had promised the Spider that they would do _that_ with his mate after some courting, and it’s been almost a year since it all began. It was obvious to Keisuke that his mate had gotten curious about how he looks beneath all the clothes. The move that got Takumi’s mind working overtime was Keisuke loosening the already loose yukata’s bind, and before he could react, Keisuke was holding himself above him.

~0~

“What the hell is Kenta doing?” Fumihiro asked, looking nearly annoyed.

“He said something about deepening his tan, or something.” Matsumoto responded. “He brought tanning oil and everything.”

“Dumbass, what does he wanna get any darker for?” Matsumoto shrugged, leaning against the tree as he idly scratched a fully shifted Tomiguchi behind the ears. “Wow, it’s hot out.” Matsumoto’s eyes shifted to Fumihiro, nearly laughing as he took in the sight of the siren flopped over on the ground, poofed up and visibly miserable. “It was a good call, having Keisuke and Takumi rest someplace cool.” Matsumoto nearly broke at that. Rest, right.

“Well, I’ll agree with you.” he stated, leaning back to look up at the branches of the tree. Ryousuke was lounged across the largest limb, fully shifted and, oddly, very comfy looking. His wings were draped loosely over the sides and his tail swayed gently, side to side. “This race will require peak physical and mental strength. A nice rest will guarantee that.” well… if they actually _did_ rest that is.

“He even thought this part through.” Fumihiro commented. “That’s Ryousuke for you.”

_‘Ryousuke’s thought about more than that.’_ Matsumoto thought to himself dryly.

“Hey, Matsumoto?”

“Hmm?”

“I just remembered that you and Takumi looked nervous about something yesterday. What's that about?”

“Well, demon creatures are raised to be wary of Seraphs, and for good reason, seeing as their race is decended from an Outsider and are thusly the only creatures capable of offing us.”

“An Outsider!?”

~0~

Matsumoto nearly lost it when he caught sight of Keisuke and Takumi later that day. Both were standing by an obviously amused Ryousuke, their necks and shoulders covered with hickeys. Fumihiro was looking everywhere but in their direction, obviously understanding the implications and holding back chuckles that were obviously trying to escape his throat, instead focusing on getting the moped from out of the van.

_‘We’re all so lucky Kenta’s passed out right now.’_ he thought, because Outsiders that dragon would nearly pitch a fit. Since it still be rather hot that night, Kenta will still see them, granted it is better later than right now, while the oni and spider look embarrassed and flustered. Fumihiro brought the moped over to them and, after a moment’s hesitation, opened his mouth and made a comment Matsumoto couldn’t hear. It obviously had its effects, because Ryousuke was visibly holding back laughter, Takumi was covering his face with two of his limbs, his ears an atomic red, and Keisuke was visibly angry, obviously trying very hard not to yell as he responded. When all was said and done, Fumihiro made his way over to the kitsune.

“What’d you say?” Matsumoto asked, and Fumihiro leveled him with an unamused look.

“‘We said beauty rest, not sex.’” he repeated, and Matsumoto let out the most undignified wheeze he'd ever made in his entire life in an effort to keep from laughing aloud, and mortifying the couple more than they already were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We said beauty rest, not sex." will forever remain my favorite line ever. (Kiyana)
> 
> Some of the lines have been lifted from the dub because they were stupid funny. (Gaysuke_Takahashi)


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The endurance race between Takumi and Joshima is underway and Kenji figures out something new that's going on between his friends.

“Takumi sure is taking a while to examine the course.” Fumihiro stated, flexing his wings as he stretched.

“He isn’t coming back any time soon, that’s for sure.” Matsumoto responded, his tail swaying easily behind him. Fumihiro hummed, his eyes shifting towards Keisuke.

“Maybe he’s just being overly thorough, after all, Keisuke seemed to have rushed through it and was back in just fifteen minutes.” Keisuke gave him an unamused look and shifted his stance, his arms crossed. “Or… he’s-”

“Finish that statement and it’ll be the last one you make until tomorrow.” Keisuke cut him off, his teeth bared as his face turned a light shade of pink.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything.” Fumihiro responded slyly. “And you can’t prove that I was.” Matsumoto snickered at Fumihiro’s words.

“And besides, checking the course out isn’t supposed to be a race, y’know.”

“Hush.” Keisuke looked away. “I go at my own pace. It may have been fast, but I saw what I needed to see.”

“Is that so?” Fumihiro asked rhetorically. “Well, do your best, then.”

“Yeah, yeah, leave it to me. I’m in top form!” Matsumoto snorted at that.

“Right. Top form.” he snickered, and Keisuke pulled the neck of his shirt up in response, his light blush deepening slightly.

“I should put on a sweater…”

~0~

Itsuki released a whine of distress as he and Iketani left the gas station for the night, sweat sticking to his skin as he began to overheat.

“Oh gods it’s too hot.” he bemoaned, glaring at Iketani when he chuckled at him.

“It is pretty hot, I’ll admit.”

“How come _you_ aren’t about to collapse like I am!?” Itsuki almost snapped.

“I’ve had years to get accustomed to the summer heat that comes with living in Gunma, and the lowered heat tolerance that comes with being a were. You’ve only had, what, two weeks?”

“A bit more than that…” Itsuki responded mutedly. A car passed by, and did not help any, the air draft it sent their way was hotter than the still air around them. Iketani wiped his brow.

“Guh… at this rate, Project D will have it pretty rough out on the road.”

“Not even the night will free them from the heat.” Itsuki crooned dramatically, prompting Iketani to roll his eyes. “Let’s go somewhere air conditioned, Koichiro, I’m dying.”

“Alright, alright.” he responded. “Come on, let’s get to my Silvia and we’ll go somewhere.”

That somewhere happened to be the same restaurant they always go to, where Itsuki nearly collapsed into a booth and drained a glass of water in seconds.

“You must have been pretty dehydrated.” Iketani said in surprise as Itsuki sat down the cup and placed his head on the table. “You alright?”

“I’m fine.” Itsuki responded faintly. Iketani didn’t really believe him.

“Riiight… so where’s Takumi headed off to in the middle of this scorching heat?”

“Ibaraki.” Itsuki responded quickly, lifting his head up. “From what Kenji told me, he’s facing a really tough opponent.” as he said this, the sound of a car pulling in caught their ears and they looked out in time to see Kenji’s 180 pull into the lot. “Speak of the devil…”

“I was almost hoping he’d be busy today.” Iketani muttered, watching the human hurry in and slide in next to him without a word.

“Hello there!” he chirped. “Sure is hot today, isn’t it?”

“And I see that heat didn’t keep you busy at all.”

“You’re one to talk, Iketani, what with you two canines lollygagging around here on a hot date before I arrived.”

“_Lollygagging_?” Iketani said incredulously. “Excuse me?”

“What?” Kenji responded, vaguely alarmed. “That’s what this looks like!” he paused. “WAIT! You didn’t deny the date comment!” Kenji grinned slyly and elbowed his friend. “You really were on a date, huh?”

“_No_.” Iketani responded firmly. “We aren’t on a date.”

“That’s what it_ looks like_.”

“It’s because we’re the only group of guys here, surrounded by couples, isn’t it.” Itsuki asked, catching their attention. He gestured around them and he was right, they were absolutely surrounded by couples and groups of mixed gender.

“Why are there so many girls here, anyway?” Kenji asked, looking vaguely upset. “What is this, a universal date night or something?”

“Should we really be here right now?” Itsuki asked, setting his head down again.

“No.” Kenji said angrily, and Iketani looked over to see a pissed off expression on his friend’s face. Since when did he get so mad? “But just where else can we go, huh?!”

“Why are you so mad?” Itsuki gave Kenji a wary look. “Nothing’s stopping you from leaving.” Kenji let out a loud sigh before letting his head collide with the table.

“That isn’t why I’m mad.” he groaned, but didn’t elaborate. They remained silent for a moment, tuning out the sounds of sweet talking, laughter, and clinking glasses.

“I wonder how Takumi’s doing… wish we could go out and cheer him on but by the time we get there, they’d be done for the night.” Itsuki broke their silence.

“So we really do have nowhere else to be.” Iketani put his head down too.

~0~

The sweater was a bad idea, Keisuke realized that now. He was currently standing on the sidelines, waiting for Takumi’s race to begin, absolutely _melting_ because he didn’t want to be teased about the damn marks again. He _could_ take it off to cool down and then put it back on. He watched Takumi wave at himself with a few limbs, before the arachnid visibly groaned and took off the leather jacket he’d given him, putting it in the back of his 86 as he leaned against it, obviously overheating.

Well… if Takumi was risking mortification over suffering from heat stroke… Keisuke caved and removed his own sweater.

“Finally overheating?” he heard Fumihiro ask, and Keisuke merely slid to the ground with a groan. “I’m taking that as a yes.”

“Hush.” Keisuke growled, and the siren merely laughed before walking off. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of insects all crying out in unison.

“Which position would you like to start?” he heard Fumihiro ask faintly.

“Behind, for the first race.” Takumi’s opponent responded.

“Alright. Takumi! You’re leading, got that?!”

_“Got it!”_ there were footsteps.

“A Jorōgumo, eh?” he heard the Seraph say easily. “I’m Toshiya Joshima. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

_“I’m Takumi Fujiwara. Likewise.”_

“If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?”

_“U-Uh, yeah, go ahead.”_

“Why settle on an 86 for racing?” Keisuke twitched at that question. He was actually a little curious too. “I’d expect someone of your age to go for something more flashy, or recently produced.”

_“Well, it’s not like the 86 was my idea. This car was originally my dad’s.”_

“Your dad’s?”

_“Mm. It’s been around the nest since I was a spiderling, and it’s all we had, so it’s the only car I ever drove.”_ Keisuke could tell Takumi was smiling slightly. _“I’m really attached to it… not to mention I drove it a lot illegally before I got my license.”_ there was a small round of laughter.

“What an interesting answer. Was it your father who taught you driving techniques before you had your license?”

_“Ahhhh… yeah, I guess that’s about how it worked.”_ there was more laughter.

“You know, I’d like to meet your father. I have a feeling we could be friends.” there was a small swath of silence. “As your opponent, I’m going to do my best. You mind?”

_“By all means.”_ Takumi was quick to respond. _“I’ll do my best too.”_ Keisuke opened his eyes in time to see Joshima walk back towards his car.

“Takumi seems vaguely intimidated by his opponent, doesn’t he?” Tomiguchi’s voice caused Keisuke to jump, much to the cat’s amusement. “Sorry.”

“I doubt that you’re sorry.” Keisuke breathed, putting a hand over his heart for a moment. “You need to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Sneaking up on people! At least make some _sound_ when walking.”

“Cats can’t control that.” Keisuke shot him an unamused look. “You never answered my question.”

“And what was your question?” Tomiguchi rolled his eyes.

“I said, Takumi seems vaguely intimidated by his opponent, doesn't he?” Keisuke looked over at Takumi, catching sight of his mate seated in his vehicle, listening to Ryousuke speak to him intently.

“I wouldn’t know, he doesn’t look intimidated right now.”

“Well, he _did_.” Ryousuke pat the roof of the 86 and walked off, Takumi watching him go with an alarmed expression on his face.

**“We can begin now, Fumihiro!”** he heard his brother call.

“Alright! I’m beginning the countdown!”

“So, I thought I’d warn you, but Kenta’s waking up.”

“Oh, great.” Keisuke felt foreboding run down his spine. “You think I can evade him?”

“Nope.”

_“GO!”_ Keisuke’s groan was covered up by the sound of engines revving and the wind rushing as the two cars began their race.

**“Keisuke!”** Kenta’s voice echoed as the dragon came closer, and Keisuke let his head fall back and collided with the van behind him. Tomiguchi snickered in amusement.

“Damn.”

**“Keisuke! I-”** Kenta was silent for a moment. **_“What in the name of the Outsiders happened to your throat!?”_**

Bye bye peace and quiet. Rather than deal with the noisy dragon, he hopped into one of the vans and grabbed a recliner. Takumi’s race won’t be ending anytime soon.

~0~

Seraphs. Of course, it had to be Seraphs. Daiki felt vaguely nervous and restless out here, a sentiment he knows Sakai isn’t sharing. Naga are nearly demons, but not demon enough to have been raised on the idea that Seraphs aren’t to be trifled with.

“You know, Daiki,” Sakai suddenly began, causing the tanuki to side eye him. “Mr. Toudou said that this guy, Toshiya Joshima, has settled into a particular sssort of technique.” Sakai turned his eyes to the tanuki beside him. “Call it _habit_, or whatever, but he’ll keep his left hand on the gear shift and steer with just the right.”

“And just why bring that up? What merit does it have?” Daiki lifted his own arms and mimicked grabbing a steering wheel. “For me, I’ve gotta use both my hands to steer, or it just doesn’t feel right.” he shifted his arms around for a moment, before freezing. “Hey, wait… isn’t that a little dangerous? There’s gonna be corners where there’s not enough steering angle to turn!” he let both arms fall. “It’s like that on every mountain pass!”

“Exactly.” Sakai chortled. “That’s why Toshiya Joshima, the sorcerer of steering, is called God Arm.” Daiki was silent for a moment.

“Then, he uses drift?” he muttered to himself.

“Hmm?” Sakai’s tongue darted from his mouth to taste the air for a split second.

“I mean, it would take incredibly high skill, but if he used a zero-counter drift from the minimum possible steering angle-”

“No, no, that isn’t it. God Arm does not drift.” the naga cut him off. “It’s not drift, and it’s not grip. His racing is described as something in-between.”

“So… it’s neither of the two?” Daiki was getting very confused by all this, his previously limp tail was starting to shake.

~0~

“Y’know,” Hoshino began speaking, catching the attention of the surrounding Purple Shadow members as he kept his eyes locked on Project D, the lot of them standing together and talking.

Well, not really talking, more a vibrant orange dragon speaking animatedly about something, looking vaguely spooked, while the oni lounged on a reclining chair, likely passed out. Everyone else seemed to be listening to the dragon, some of them trying to hold back laughs, but that’s hard to tell from where he was standing. He _was_ gesturing at the oni a lot, so maybe he was freaking out about his race?

“Everyone seems to think that Jo’s one-handed steer is some kinda off-the-wall technique. It’s not, it’s actually pretty grounded in solid principles. It all boils down to a single question: how do you turn along a slight steering angle? Jo’s spent more than twenty years persuin’ that very question. He’s combined various techniques, and after all that trial and error, he got to where he is now.” Hoshino finally looked away from Project D and focused on the members of Purple Shadow. “He’ll go on and on emphatically about it being neither drift or grip, but if you ask me… well, in my opinion, it’s the perfect drift.”

~0~

“The really high-level techniques are the ones that’re hard to see, and just look pretty plain.” Sakai hissed a little. “Tires do their best work when the G-forces kick in and you’re unsure of their stability, makes you question if they’ll continue gripping the road, or if they’ll ssslide out.”

“Right…” Daiki led along, hoping Sakai would get to the point soon.

“I think he makes his car slide just enough that you can’t tell it’s doing so by just looking. From a logical standpoint, that kinda makes sense.”

“I think I get it. Is that what it means to be between drift and grip, then?” Sakai hummed.

“Maybe. Mr. Toudou would know. The Toudou School and Purple Shadow have been rivals for many years. Back when we were active in the scene, we used to have racing meets all the time on the circuits. To think that the top members of Purple Shadow would actually do a street race… well, this is an opportunity we’d likely never get again, let this one slip by and it’s the last one. ‘God Foot’ Kouzou Hoshino, and ‘God Arm’ Toshiya Joshima are two men who’s racing we should watch closely, Daiki.”

~0~

Matsumoto sighed as he stretched, his tail floofing out as he felt his back pop. Maybe he should sit down…

**“Fumihiro.”** Ryousuke suddenly spoke up.

“Hmm?”

**“Do you remember Shingo Shoji of the NightKids, and his duct tape deathmatch specialty?”**

“Shoji… Oh, you mean that rat were? The one who fastens his right hand to the wheel with tape?”

**“That’s the one. What I’m focused on right now is the duct tape, it would let him turn only within a set range of steering angles. That forces his turn to rely on accelerator handling.”** Ryousuke’s tail twitched. **“It could be that Toshiya Joshima’s single-handed steer is an extension of that technique. Or, rather, its ultimate, most thoroughly perfected form.”**

“But… why bother with all that?” Fumihiro asked. “Aside from having his left hand able to perform all shifting, what could the benefit of such things possibly be?”

**“The answer to that is in the realm of sensitivity unique to Toshiya Joshima.”** Ryousuke flexed his wings a little and shifted them into a slightly different position. **“While undoubtedly an unorthodox driving style, some of the WRC’s top drivers have utilized a single-handed steer.”**

~0~

Takumi narrowed his eyes, agitation and nerves clawing at his spine relentlessly. It wasn’t something he liked very much, he knew that well enough from the first time he experienced it.

**_“Seems we brought too much of Akina with us today.”_** Spider snapped grouchily, and Takumi shared the sentiment.

_“I’ll say. It’s all exactly the same. The pressure, the overwhelming tingling I can feel… it’s only serving to remind me of a certain bastard of an old man who drives an Impreza. Ugh, it’s so alike that it makes me sick!”_ Takumi growled and flew through the next few corners, simmering in his agitation for a moment as Spider clicked away. _“The first round will be over soon. Damn it! He didn’t do anything but pressure me, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it!”_

Joshima could tell that his opponent was at least a little agitated, and it was to be expected, Jorōgumo aren’t very good with feeling like prey. It went against almost everything the spiders knew, having been sharing the top of the food chain with other creatures for centuries.

“This first round couldn’t have gone any better for me.” he chuckled to himself, his wings shifting behind him. “All according to plan. I was able to get a good, long look at his technique. He’s much better than I’d thought. This is a race that won’t be settled after just two rounds, I can feel it.”

~0~

_‘The second round will have begun by now.’_ Daiki thought to himself distractedly as he shifted from foot to foot, his tail swaying back and forth, picking up a bit of a breeze that he could feel behind him. _‘I wish I could point my tail at me more…’_

“You know, Daiki, the S2000 is a really difficult car to master.” Sakai started speaking again and the tanuki sighed, sitting on the ground. Sakai came down beside him, his tail wrapping in on himself as he settled into a nest. He’d never noticed it before, but Sakai had a pattern of white scales running down his spine. Neat.

“Mmhmm.” the tanuki hummed along, showing that he was still listening.

“But, despite the difficulty, its racing capabilities are second-to-none. It might be even faster at cornering than an NSX.” a small rock came flying out of the treeline at that, clocking Sakai square in the back of the head and causing him to cry out and swivel in the direction it came from. Daiki looked as well, and caught sight of an irritated pair of glowing red eyes in time for them to vanish completely.

“Looks like someone disagrees with you there, tree snake.” Daiki snickered, and Sakai merely hissed, rubbing the back of his head agitatedly.

“Anyway,” the naga grit out. “Having a driver like God Arm behind the wheel means that there’s no way it could lose to that 86.” Daiki had a gut feeling that Sakai would be proven wrong. “Maybe he won’t even have to do anything ssspecial, just draw out the car’s potential, and that’ll be enough to knock it into a zone where the 86 can’t keep up. I would like to believe that’s how the second round will play out. It’s just… this isn’t at all a normal situation, now is it? Because both drivers are anything but ordinary.”

“Especially that 86 driver.” Daiki agreed. “He’s got such a genius-like ability that you’d have to race him to even begin to understand. And he’s seemingly developed it around the quirks of that 86 of his… it’s almost like he was born to become that car’s driver.”

~0~

Matsumoto was tired, it was obvious. His ears were drooping, his tail was motionless behind him, and he yawned every so often, showing off his sharp canines on accident each time. And yet he didn’t go lie down for even a second, instead typing away on a laptop while Ryousuke hovered over his shoulder. The race, which had gone on for about six rounds now, was really dragging on.

Fumihiro was a little worried for the kitsune, he wouldn’t lie.

**“Fumihiro.”** Ryousuke’s voice forced the siren to pull his attention away from his tired friend. **“Once this round is finished, I want you to have them stop refueling.”** Matsumoto glanced up at that as he nodded.

“Alright.” as he said this, the two racers pulled back into the lot and came to a stop in their new positions for the seventh round, Takumi’s 86 pulling to the front to lead. Joshima looked slightly haggard, his wings fluffed out a bit as he wandered around a little, while Takumi himself made his way to Fumihiro and completely collapsed beside him. The siren silently handed him a water bottle and Takumi accepted it with a grateful smile before downing the whole thing without even a sound.

_“This is intense.”_ Takumi finally commented, his pedipalps shifting anxiously. _“He’s just pulling me around all over the place.”_

“Your current enemy is not easily defeated it seems.”

_“Yeah… hey, would you mind if I took a peak at the calculations that’ve been run so far?”_ Fumihiro nodded and walked over to the laptop, picking it up and bringing it to the downed spider for him to look at. _“My main question is if there’s any variation in the times, that S2000’s style is pretty all over the place.”_

“Well, there’s variation alright.” Fumihiro said, pointing at the screen. “Coming from _you_.”

_“What?”_

“See, look, here are the races where he was in front.” he heard Takumi growl. “The times are so exact, it almost makes you sick, huh? He’s like a computer that’s keeping a set and precise pace.”

_“What, the actual **fuck?”**_ Fumihiro nearly flinches as the sudden change of voice and tone, but doesn’t, having half expected this to happen, as Spider seems to be an easily angered creature. As Spider stewed over the data, Fumihiro allowed his gaze to drift back towards Joshima.

Seraphs, huh?

With Joshima, he let out a groan as he finished off a second water bottle and wiped his face off, partially ignoring Hoshino, who was leaning against his car.

“Aren’t you dragging this out a little too long, Jo?” he asked, sounding vaguely concerned. “I know you’re having _fun_, but-”

“This isn’t really _fun_, you know.” Joshima interrupted. “It’s taking everything I’ve got and is throttling it. That’s how good of a driver that spider is.”

“So why are you engaging in a war of attrition with teenagers like this? We’re much older, that puts us at a disadvantage.”

“I know that, Ho. I plan on ending this whole thing in the next round.”

“Is that so?” Hoshino’s wings shifted and he cracked a small smile. “Alright then, we’ll be waiting for you at the bottom them.”

“Alright.”

Back with Fumihiro, he watched as Spider got into the 86 and took the wheel in place of Takumi, Ryousuke coming to the door and hardly batting an eye at the obvious lack of Takumi in his eyes.

**“Takumi need to fall back for a minute?”**

** _“Yeah.”_ **

**“Then my advice applies to you. Do _not_ be fooled by his tricks. His goal is to confuse the line he takes. Takumi’s times when he’s taken the lead are erratic, and becoming worse, which means he, and likely you as well, have fallen into his trap. Do not be led astray by his line, focus on your own instead.”** Spider nodded.** “Use everything you have at your disposal, even the ditches. I have a feeling that Joshima’s gonna do something drastic this round, so take care to not be shaken up by it.”**

**_“Right.”_** and with that, they were released and back on the road again.

~0~

“Ko made fun of me for it, but I’ve had a damn good reason for dragging this while race out for so long.” Joshima said, gritting his teeth slightly, being mindful of the sharp points against his lips. “It’s plain to see when behind the 86 like this, watching his every move. I can do this the smart way, and utilize the difference in our tire performance!” his wings tensed as they passed another corner. “There’s not much room for error, though, my tires are already at their limit.” he resisted the urge to wipe his brow, wow it was getting a little warm in the car.

That probably wasn’t good.

“There’s a point coming up where the rhythm changes slightly. It’s there I can make my move.”

And make his move he did, jumping the ditch to come up beside the 86, and using the next two corners to pull ahead.

And that pissed Spider off. Spider could feel the seraph thinking he’d won, and it made his blood boil. He was going to catch up, he was going to retake the damn lead, and he wasn’t going to let this hunt go to the enemy!

**_“Counter in your own way.”_** Ryousuke’s voice echoed over and over again in his head. **_“Do not match his pace, counter in your own way.”_**

**_“We’re countering in our own way alright!”_** he snarled, jumping two tires over the ditch line and riding it at every corner, keeping pace with, and even catching up to, the S2000 without much issue.

Joshima was flabbergasted, just how the hell was that 86 keeping pace with him!? As he drove he glanced at the rear view, hoping to see what was going on, and see he did.

“He’s using the ditch… smart kid.” he growled, and before he could think up a counter, the 86 was suddenly gone. “W-Wait, where the hell’d he go!? How-” lights appeared beside him as he came towards the corner and he choked, the 86 suddenly reappearing in its entirety on the inside of the road, half on and half off. The shock of it all caused him to reflexively place his left hand on the wheel. The 86 quickly sped ahead and retook the lead.

He put his left hand back on the gear shift.

“What a crazy spider.” he muttered. “I lost it there for a moment, never thought he’d cut in at such a sharp angle. _That_, was truly godlike.” his lips narrowed into a thin line for a moment. “Such a technique has its risks, and it must be _hell_ on the suspension.” he laughed humorlessly. “Guess we’re going into an eighth round.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a hot minute, hasn't it? I haven't had the drive to write for the past like, what, week? Week and a half? But I'm here now, and my back hurts from sitting hunched at my computer, and I need to get some sleep lmfao (Kiyana)
> 
> Is2g the dub made me lose it, Iketani didn't deny the hot date comment coming from Kenji like a confused bi. Also, Sakai, don't insult the NSX ever again, k. (Gaysuke_Takahashi)


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the race ends in a way no one expected.

Keisuke awoke slowly to Tomiguchi shaking his shoulder gently.

“Keisuke, I have the feeling that Takumi’s race is gonna be over soon.”

“Ngh?” Keisuke sat up and rubbed an eye. “How many rounds?”

“They just started the eighth round.” that got Keisuke to wake up completely.

“_EIGHTH_!?” he choked. “Just what all did I miss!?”

“Somewhere around the sixth round, Ryousuke had us stop refueling them so their race could come to a stop sooner.” Tomiguchi responded quickly. “During the last round, Takumi was passed, before he regained the lead in order to drag it into an eighth round. Also, from what I’ve heard from Fumihiro, Spider is currently the one behind the wheel.”

“Is that it?”

“Well, we all prepared to lose when Spider was passed, and knowing that spider he got angry at being passed. I guess we forgot that anything can happen with a pissed off Jorōgumo.” Keisuke gave him a blank look, before shrugging. He stood and popped his back, groaning as he turned around a picked up the chair to put it back in the van.

**“Keisuke!”** the oni groaned, his head coming in contact with the van as he closed his eyes. He _just_ woke up, why curse him with the dragon now? Couldn’t it have waited a few more minutes?

~0~

“Eight rounds…” Fumihiro commented quietly as he watched the two racers speed around a corner. “Gods. I’d given up last round after hearing Takumi… not wait, they switched, after hearing that Spider’d been passed. The fact that he regained the lead just for this has my blood pumping again.” his feathers ruffled up a little as he spoke excitedly.

“Who’d have thought the spider would pair that blind attack of his with a gutter-drop variation? Certainly not me.” Matsumoto responded in kind. “It looks like even God Arm was taken by surprise by it.”

“It was God Arm’s shattering conviction that gave Spider his opening, I’ll bet. I’m just wondering why he didn’t spring it before now.”

**“Because he wasn’t allowed to.”** Ryousuke responded. **“He’d wanted to, I know it, but he was at the mercy of his opponent, controlled almost like a puppet on strings. He didn’t have a chance to take the initiative. Only after his tires had lost their grip and he’d been driven to such dire straits was he able to turn the tables.”** Ryousuke gave a quiet chortle. **“Or, rather, he’d cut his own strings.”**

“I see…”

**“It will only get more intense from here on out. His opponent is _not_ naive enough to be fooled by the same trick twice.”**

~0~

“This isn’t good.” Hoshino hummed as he leaned against his vehicle, looking straight up at the stars. His wings shifted around agitatedly. “A war of attrition isn’t in Jo’s favor.” he pulled his eyes away from the distant lights and glanced at the members of Project D loitering down the road, noting that the oni seems to have woken up and was staring agitatedly at the orange dragon, who was seemingly ranting at him. “In terms of stamina, he’s got the short end of the stick.”

“B-But…” a Purple Shadow member spoke up, a pair of fluffy brown antennae shifting easily in the light night breeze. “There’s no way Mr. Joshima would possibly lose…” light green, spotted wings curled around them like a cape.

“I get the sentiment.” Hoshino sighed. “Jo’s a perfectionist. He’ll try to win ‘smart’ using some plan he’s cooked up in his noggin.” he turned his gaze back towards the stars. “I just hope he hasn’t lost his concentration from things not going his way.”

~0~

Joshima was sweating heavily, maybe those two water bottles were a bad idea, he couldn’t tell. His head swam with thoughts, cluttering together, much to his dismay. His wings started feeling uncomfortable regardless of their position, the feathers started pricking his back. Also his stomach wasn’t feeling it’s best, like it was tied up in a knot.

“What do I do? Do I just, open up full throttle and flee? That’s the only thing I _can_ do.” he cleared a corner and took advantage of the straight to wipe at his brow. “I’ll show you one more thing before I do that, kid. My so-called record-line attack.” he narrowed his eyes. “I’ve never placed much importance on lines for street racing, all I can think about is using my tires to the fullest and having a good time. Practice using the one handed steer showed me that fully utilizing your tires won’t make much of a difference in time, no matter the line. Using that logic, the resulting line used is that which most effectively uses the tires, and that is precisely what the ‘record line’ is!” he shifted his wings once more and tried to ignore the feeling of his feathers digging into flesh. “To me, the ideal racing line it not to be sought out, it’s just a result!”

~0~

_‘What is this, the seventh round?’_

** _“Eighth.”_ **

_‘That many?’ _Takumi sounded tired, and taken back. Spider didn’t blame him.

** _“We have to stay on his tail.”_ **

_‘Right! No matter what!’_

** _“We’re all feelin’ the burn. No other option for it!”_ **

~0~

“I’m worried about the 86.” Fumihiro confided to Matsumoto. “I mean, it’s hardly a new car… I fear that the strain of eight rounds will cause it to have mechanical problems mid-race.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” Matsumoto responded. “Enough time and money has gone into maintaining that vehicle that it could do ten, or even twenty full-speed downhill races without a hitch.” Fumihiro’s expression shifted downwards a little.

“I sure hope so…”

“_My_ only worry is that modified gutter-drop using the curbstone.” Matsumoto’s tail shifted, and his ear twitched. “Unlike the gutters on Akina the ones here place strain on the suspension. Repeated drops are a terrifying prospect, knowing that. Takumi and Spider are likely well aware of that, though.”

“But… if the gutter-drop is the only way he could win this…”

“Then he will use it again when he has to.”

~0~

_‘Something about this round feels different.’_ Takumi commented, understanding now why Spider absolutely hated that prickling feeling he got at the back of his neck when something he needed to be wary of was happening. It was like an infuriating humming, or vibration of some kind, ceaseless and rhythmic, and he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. He hated it more than the prickling itself. _‘And it’s not just the damn prickling.’_

_ **“Well, for one, our opponent is pulling away, so maybe that has something to do with it!”** _

_‘What!?’_ Takumi focused and sure enough, Joshima was pulling away, slowly but surely. _‘Why? What’s causing this!?’_

** _“We don’t know, but at this rate, we’re gonna lose, we’re almost to the goal!”_ **

_‘We have to catch up!’_

**_“We know!”_** Spider grit his teeth, moving the right tires over the curb to gain momentum, when a loud, metallic snap forced the car to shake unsteadily, almost violently as he started slowly losing speed. _**“Shit!”**_

_‘Oh, we’ve done it now!’_ Takumi panicked slightly as they pulled from the curb._ ‘The suspension is busted!’_ Spider was silent at that, trying to keep control of the car at the speed they were going. He didn’t need to say it. Without suspension, they couldn’t keep racing.

He lost. Or so he thought.

As he came around the next few corners, he caught sight of the S2000 spun around and pulled over, Joshima standing huddled over the bushes, his wings ramrod straight. Spider and Takumi collectively winced, that can’t be good. They felt, though, that they should cross the finish line first, before checking on Joshima, part of him actually dreading to check on him. The line wasn’t very far from Joshima, so after crossing Takumi was back in control, out of the car, and over in minutes.

_“Hey, are you alright?”_

~0~

“I just _can’t_ believe you lost like this, Jo.” Hoshino bemoaned, Purple Shadow watching with worried eyes from nearby.

“I’m real sorry.” Joshima responded, sounding vaguely ill. “Not to make any excuses, but it got very hot all of a sudden, right? Lost my appetite because of it, thought that maybe I was just really tired inside or something. But getting sick while driving? I can’t believe it myself.”

“It’s too bad you couldn’t keep going even if you were sick.” Hoshino commented tersely. “The goal line wasn’t at all far from where you stopped, y’know.”

“That would have been astronomically _stupid_, Ho. For one, I couldn’t concentrate at all. I got ridiculously tired out of nowhere.” he narrowed his eyes. “Also, imagine if I did keep going to the goal while getting sick. I come out victorious, cheered on by our team mates, smelling like I walked through a sewer, while covered in my own vomit.” they were silent at that.

“Well… you _had_ been racing for a pretty long time.” Hoshino retorted, completely ignoring that last part.

“I honestly didn’t think it would be this drawn out. I’d expected it to be over an entire round earlier.” Joshima chuckled amusedly, despite his condition. “This means that I really am just a middle-aged guy now.”

~0~

Matsumoto clicked his tongue as he looked at the 86’s suspension.

“Well, this doesn't look at all good.” he finally said. “We’ll have to run some checks on her once we get back to Gunma.”

**“Can it be driven back?”**

“Yeah, as long as you go at a normal speed.” Takumi shuffled around a little, catching their attention in time for his eyes to change color.

**_“We’re very sorry about this…”_** Spider commented, sounding incredibly guilty, before handing control back to Takumi. Ryousuke gave him a vaguely soft look.

**“Don’t be so glum. It’s not something that can’t be fixed. Besides, I was the one who told you to use the curbside despite the risks. Despite how you feel about the technique aspect, you still won the race.”**

_“I don’t feel like I won.”_ Takumi grumbled, and Ryousuke huffed, vaguely amused.

**“Well, I think this was a good learning experience for you. Don’t forget today’s experiences, Takumi. You’re still learning and developing, you and D both.”** Takumi was still a moment, before nodding lightly. Keisuke came next to Takumi and rested his hand on his shoulder with a soft smile.** “Now, you should go get some rest, you likely need it. We still have Keisuke’s race to do. We’re cancelling your timed run, as the 86 is no longer in condition to do it. Alright?”**

_“Yeah, alright.”_ as Ryousuke wandered off, Takumi glanced over towards the members of Purple Shadow, a few things running through his mind. He had something he wanted to ask Joshima but… it could wait until after Keisuke’s race and timed run.

“... -akumi? Helloooo? Space cadet? Earth to Takumi!” Takumi jumped and turned his gaze to Keisuke, who looked vaguely amused. “You alright there? I called your name like, five times.”

_“I’m okay, just thinking.”_

“About what?”

_“Stuff.”_

“Well, _that_ isn’t at all vague.” Keisuke pouted. “At least give me a hint or something?”

_“I just have something I wanna ask Joshima. It’s not important right now.”_ Keisuke rose a brow._ “I’m serious.”_ Takumi huffed when his mate’s expression didn’t change. _“Don’t you have a race to go get ready for?”_

“Ouch.”

_“And Keisuke, these seraphs aren’t a walk in the park like our previous opponents.”_

“Yeah. I know.” Keisuke pulled Takumi into a one armed hug and they stayed like that for a moment, before he pulled away and started towards his FD, and Hoshino.

One more race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE MORE CHAPTER ONE MORE CHAPTER ONE MORE CHAPTER ONE- WE'RE ALMOST DOOOOONE!!!! I'M SO EXCITED TO GET TO VOLUME FIVE AAAAA (Kiyana)
> 
> AAAAAAAAA WE ALREADY HAVE PLANS FOR VOL 5, HHHHHH HYPE!!(Gaysuke_Takahashi)


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the first round comes and goes while the anxiety remains high.

Despite being particularly tired, Matsumoto was in his element. So many conversations around him to listen in on, he liked hearing meaningless gossip, helped pass the time. Closing his eyes, he could hear a lot of things the others didn’t. The creak of the trees, the click of teeth and claws, the soft shuffle of wings and feathers, the soft chitter of insects both big and small, he could even hear a small thunk and some scuttling as Nejibana finally awoke and emerged from a cracked open window in one of the vans, falling to the ground and making her way over to Takumi. He cracked open an eye and began surveying around, he didn’t want to randomly select a conversation to listen in on this time, like blindly pulling straws. His eyes drifted towards the seraphs again and, despite the vague anxiety that crept down his spine at the idea, decided he’d listen in on them.

“... can’t wait to start the race.” he heard Hoshino state eagerly. “I can hardly sit still.”

“Now Ko,” Joshima began firmly. “You watch yourself. Keep control of your bad habit of letting your guard down and not staying alert. Don’t get cocky.”

“Keep your pantyhose on, Jo.” Hoshino retorted.

“Don’t make comments like that.” Joshima said immediately, though his friend plowed through his statement like he’d never even made it. Matsumoto nearly snickered.

“I’ve got a reputation to uphold within Purple Shadow, I’m not gonna lose to some young demon.”

“I didn’t say you would, I just-”

“I know what you meant by it, Jo. Especially seeing how that downhill ace of theirs managed to not only keep up with you, but win in an 86 of all cars.” Hoshino sighed. “I won’t let my guard down. I’ll keep ahead and show that ankle bitter the skills of a middle aged racer!” there was a small lul in their conversation, Matsumoto could hear Fumihiro’s familiar gait heading their way.

“I believe you, Ho.” Joshima finally said, and the footsteps stopped. “Hello again.”

“Oh, hello.” Fumihiro sounded tired, but still amiable and polite. “Do you mind, Hoshino, if we start with the hillclimb?”

“Not at all.” there were more footsteps, heavier and more rough, Keisuke no doubt.

“Wonderful. Once you’ve reached the top of the hillclimb, there will be a pylon. Without stopping, turn around at that point and come back down, that will count as one round. Is that fine?”

“Of course.” Hoshino sounded excited at the prospect. “This is a combined stage, so that sounds perfect. If it’s not too much, I’d like to lead for the first round.”

“Excellent.” there was another pause, before two sets of footsteps wandered away, Fumihiro’s in his direction and the other elsewhere. He could almost hear the silence left behind become tense for a moment, and he almost succumbed to the urge to open his eyes and see what was happening.

“You’ve got a strong glare, kid.” Hoshino finally spoke, sounding incredibly amused. Matsumoto could imagine the sharp, toothy smile on the seraph’s face. “Shall we get started?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s be formal once again. I’m Kouzou Hoshino.”

“Keisuke Takahashi.”

“Let’s have a good race, yeah?” and with that, both separated and headed to their own vehicles.

~0~

**“Keisuke.”** Ryousuke called, catching his brother’s attention quickly, and the oni was quick to turn to him and give him his full attention. Tomiguchi thought it was particularly respectful of him, seeing as he’s only done that once before with his own mate, that he was aware of.** “This race will likely be tough, and must be handled with the utmost precision. So, I need you to listen closely…”** Tomiguchi’s gaze drifted towards the seraphs, he didn’t understand what about them made Matsumoto of all people so nervous. Maybe it was something he wouldn’t ever really get. He watched them talk for a moment, Joshima’s face shifting to be slightly annoyed, and the human’s to be taken aback, and felt curiosity grab at him and hang on. He leaned against a van and focused on his hearing, he may not enjoy listening to gossip like Matsumoto but he still did it from time to time if he was curious enough.

“... thought I told you to not make comments like that.” Joshima said agitatedly. “Y’know what, do whatever, I won’t tell you to be careful anymore.”

“You really shouldn’t worry so much, Jo.” Hoshino said, sounding softer than he had before. “You’ll upset your stomach and get sick again. I’ll be fine.” Tomiguchi suddenly felt like he was being intrusive, listening in to someone speak in such a tone, so he pulled his focus away and turned his attention back to Keisuke and Ryousuke.

“... how well I can do against him, but I’ll just have to try it and see.” Keisuke said, likely in response to Ryousuke’s orders.

**“You should be fine, the way you are now.”** Keisuke looked a little pleased by that statement, before his expression turned serious.

“Aniki, according to your simulations, what’s the margin limit I can concede to him up until the turning point?”

**“Hmm… about seven seconds.”** there was a tense pause. **“Remember, Keisuke, too much or too little and you will lose. Don’t forget that.”**

“Right.”

**“You may start now, Fumihiro.”** as Fumihiro began calling out, Tomiguchi caught sight of the two seraphs exchanging more words, looking vaguely gentle with one another, before they separated.

“Okay, they definitely know about the rumors of them being mates, they’re just teasing us at this point.” he heard one of the bystanders say, and turned to see a fawn having been the one who said it.

“But, what if they _are_ mates?” a rabbit were asked.

“Only the Outsiders know at this point.” the fawn replied.

“But, have they done the _thing_?”

“What thing? You mean have sex?” the human asked incredulously, looking taken aback.

His rabbit companion was shocked to his core. “NO, I mean like an eternal promise thing or whatever seraphs do… I don’t know too much about it.”

“Well, neither do I, so I think it is best if we forget about it and watch Hoshino race.”

“Right.”

“_GO_!” Tomiguchi heard Fumihiro exclaim, and the two racers rushed by. The first round has begun.

He hoped it wouldn’t drag on like Takumi’s race had. He probably wouldn’t be able to stay awake if that was the case.

~0~

“Sounds like the race has started.” Matsumoto commented easily, his eyes settled on Takumi as he leaned against the van. The spider was once again lounged atop his 86, his limbs swaying easily as he tried not to doze off. Nejibana was situated on his head, not holding the save reserves as her master, as she was once again asleep.

_“Mm.”_ Takumi responded softly.

“They say that Keisuke’s opponent, ‘God Foot’ Hoshino, has a superhuman mastery of accelerator handling.”

_“Not surprising for a seraph.”_

“I’ll agree. Keisuke’s probably feeling some pretty intense pressure.”

_“Ugh, I hate feeling this unnerved all the time.”_ Takumi said, a few of his limbs twitching. _“Ever since I realized they were seraphs it’s just been that; anxiety.”_

“As it should be.” Matsumoto was firm in his response. "_Yōkai_ are natural hunters, we don’t have any predators ourselves, but seraphs… well, the anxiety is supposed to keep us in check. We have it for a reason, and it’s been like that for generations.”

_“I know, it’s just-”_

“Jorōgumo aren’t meant to be anxious all the time. Yeah. I get it.”

~0~

Daiki was… well, amused. Ever since Sakai said that the S2000 might have been better at cornering than the NSX, he’d been practically harassed non-stop. First was the little rock, and now a little bat was diving at him every few minutes. It was both adorable, and hilarious. He didn’t dare laugh out loud, though, he valued his life and he’d rather not be squeezed by an angry boa constrictor, thanks.

“You know, Daiki,” Sakai began, ignoring the little bat as it dove at him again. “When I hear the name Kouzou Hoshino, I’m reminded of the impression I got of him, back when he was still driving an R32.”

“Huh?”

“I’d been at a going-away party, and Hoshimo was at the last corner of the Tsukuba circuit. I watched him drift the whole damn thing, from entry to exit. And I can still see it, like it’s burned into my retinas.”

“Oooh…”

“Y’see, the GTR’s ATTESA E-TS 4WD system is a bit unusual and, as a rule, doesn’t allow for drifting. If the E-TS detects tailslide, it forces the car into front-wheel drive.”

“Really?” Daiki was genuinely interested in this. “I don’t know that much about 4WD.”

“Well, in other words, even if you reduce countersteer and fully step on the gas, you can’t maintain the slide angle like in a normal rear-wheel drive. Front-side traction is increased, and the car cancels out the drift.”

“Ah…”

“And, because ATTESA E-TS is designed to assign torque to the front wheels automatically according to acceleration, the more intricate your handling, the more difficult it becomes to sustain drift.”

“But… you said his GT-R was drifting, right?”

“Absolutely flawlessssly.” Sakai nodded. “Even Mr. Toudou was shocked by it. Said that he didn’t have a single explanation for that kind of technique.”

“Mr. Toudou said that!?”

“Yeah. Unthinkable, innit?” Sakai shifted, his posture leaning as he crossed his arms. “Still, it had all likely been like a game to Hoshino. Just him showing off.”

“Do you think that’s why Mr. Toudou said we should come watch this race?”

“Not a doubt in my mind. Hoshino has godlike mastery of pedal work, that’s why they call him God Foot.” they were silent for a moment, the wind causing the leaves on the trees to rustle. Too bad it wasn’t a cool breeze, Daiki was kinda starting to overheat.

“Mr. Toudou said something else that’s on my mind.” the tanuki commented. Sakai side eyed him. “He said that we should watch how Project D faces down this giant wall set before them. The 86 faced it in a war of attrition, and won. So…”

“I’ve got the same question on my mind. Just what kind of race will this one turn out to be? I can’t wait to find out.” they fell silent once more, Daiki tilting his head to look at the stars, when Sakai suddenly grunted in alarm, causing the tanuki to look at him before snorting, trying to hold in his laughter. The bat had come to a full stop impact against the naga’s face, it’s wings splayed out against his face and the back of his head. Gently, Sakai wrapped a hand around the bat and pulled it off him, taking the opportunity to look at it closely.

“... it’s cute.” Daiki commented, and the bat squeaked loudly at that, seemingly taking offence. “What? I’m right. Aren’t I Sakai?”

“... yeah, you’re right. Look at it’s little teeth. Must be a mighty hunter for something so small.” the bat puffed up at that, looking proud, and Sakai placed it on the ground. It flew back into the air and was gone.

“You think it’ll come back and dive bomb you now that you’ve complimented it?”

“Outsiders, I hope not.”

~0~

“Well, for such a big-ass car, it sure it showing me some nimble movement.” Keisuke chortled, feeling pretty surprised. He had every right, to see such a large and heavy car passing corners with ease was mildly infuriating. “I was full of confidence after having upped my car’s racing capabilities… but I’ll admit, that was particularly naive of me. When it comes to traction, the GT-R sure is a monster.” he narrowed his eyes. “How irritating. It doesn’t help that he’s so damn _fast_!”

Hoshino himself, on the other end, was still grinning ear to ear, entering corners with a count back from three and an excited shout of ‘Doriyah’.

“This is going great! I’m feelin’ good!” he exclaimed, patting the wheel of his car. “I’ve gone through, in the GT-R line alone, an R32, 33, and 34, and oh the impact the R32 had on me when it debuted! It was an absolute disappointment then the R33 came out, it sucked! One, two… DORIYAH!” he cleared another corner. “I’d never gotten rid of a car faster than I had that one, went straight back to the R32. But this one, the R34 GT-R, is my fourth car, and I ain’t about to ditch her!” he glanced in the rearview, chuckling at the sight of the FD keeping up with him easily. “It’s wonderful that he’s keepin’ up. Well done, oni boy.”

~0~

“It sure is lively, riding shotgun in Mr. Hoshino’s GT-R!” Tomiguchi heard a Purple Shadow member exclaim, prompting him to look over towards them, his left ear shifting down a little. His eyes landed on Joshima, the seraph seated atop his S2000 and a wing extended as far in front of him as it could go. A few feathers fell from the limb as Joshima ran his fingers through what he could, he looked a little like he could use some help with that.

“You’re right about that, for him there’s no such thing as driving quietly.” the rabbit commented.

“Right, sometimes he does these real excited yells, ‘doriyah!’ this and such.”

“It’s pretty surprising, in my opinion. I guess that’s just how Mr. Hoshino concentrates.”

“Muttering to himself and going into his own world and… well, I don’t think any of us could ever do something like that.”

“Yeah, the normal way to concentrate is to just, stay quiet.” Joshima’s expression shifted upwards a little, looking particularly amused by their conversation. He quite obviously knew something they didn’t, something that factors heavily into all this. But, he didn’t move to tell them, he merely made a bit of a show of picking out a broken feather and tossing it to the side before continuing on with his grooming.

“Oi, Mr. Joshima!” the seraph looked up and the rabbit waved a bottle in his direction. “You want a water bottle?” at his nod, the rabbit bounced over with the bottle and handed it over before bouncing back.

“Pretty muggy out tonight, isn’t it?” he called, and received various nods. “Not even the earlier morning hours free us from such heat.”

“Are… you alright?” the fawn’s voice called, and Tomiguchi spotted him lying near them in a patch of grass. “You look really sweaty.”

“I’m just at the mortal age where the heat really hits you most.” he responded, before chugging the water down.

“Should you really be out in this heat? I mean you-”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

~0~

Hoshino’s smile wilted a little as he eyed his opponent in his rearview, watching him keep within a certain distance.

“So that’s his plan, huh? Clever. Almost too clever.” he sighed. “Oh, but he’s still young. In my opinion, there’s no need for him to be that clever just yet. I mean, when I was his age, I was more of an idiot, always on the offensive. It’s because of that I’ve been able to come this far without losing. One, two-!”

~0~

“Project D’s FD looks like it’s getting left behind.” Daiki commented sleepily. “What’re your thoughts on it, Sakai?”

“I think this hillclimb is using some nonstandard rules.”

“Nonstandard rules?”

“Mmm. The GT-R, with it’s great traction, will have the uphill advantage, but on the downhill that FD could have the upper hand. It’s likely that he’s holding back on this section, not placing wear on his tires until the donhill, which he’ll bet the race on.”

“Wouldn’t that make Project D the one that’s actively trying to lay a trap?” Sakai nodded.

“It’s a huge gamble, all or nothing, and trying this tactic on Hoshino of all people takes guts. If he doesn’t follow as predicted on the downhill, it’s all over.” they were silent for a moment. “It’s absolutely astounding how he planned all of thisss… Ryousuke Takahashi. Outsiders, the turnaround to the downhill will be something to watch. Those two are gonna engage in an all-out downhill, I bet they’re both perfectly aware of where the importance of this race lies. Oough… just thinking about it makes me tingle.”

~0~

“Won’t be long now.” Matsumoto commented, catching Takumi’s attention as Nejibana paced on his abdomen. Takumi couldn’t tell what was up with her, she was being vague about something. He didn’t know if he liked that or not.

**“Oi!”** Kenta’s voice called, and the two looked over as the dragon stopped before them.** “I got word from below, Keisuke’s slowly being left behind.”** Takumi clicked nervously at that.

“Well… the GT-R has the advantage on the hillclimb.” Matsumoto reasoned. “I’m not all too surprised by this.”

_“Still… this likely feels horrible for Keisuke.”_

**“Huh?”** Kenta tilted his head.

_“I mean… has Keisuke ever experienced something like this before? I don’t think he has. His opponent’s car, disappearing without a trace from his FD’s windshield…”_

_“Sounds like something we’ve done…”_ Nejibana muttered, Takumi ignored her. He didn’t finish his thought and they all fell silent, just in time for a familiar brown bat to fly out from the treeline and land more gracefully than before on his abdomen beside Nejibana.

**_‘Ah… maybe that’s why she was being vague.’ _**Spider said. **_‘And if the bat is here-’_**

_‘Then it’s master isn’t too far behind.’_

“Takumi… are you gonna finish your thought?”

_“Huh?”_ he looked at Matsumoto and blinked. _“Oh. Well… frustration builds up when your opponent vanishes like that. It’s something you have to do your best to control during a race. Not an easy task when you also have to focus on your tires’ contact with the road.”_

“That is true…” Matsumoto trailed off, watching as the bat and Nejibana interacted. The little spider pat the bat’s head and scuttled off, the little creature letting out a squeak and quickly giving chase for what would be the oddest game of tag he’s ever seen.

**“That’s alright!”** Kenta exclaimed. **“Keisuke can do it! He has what it takes!”**

“I won’t disagree with you on that one.” Takumi responded. They were quiet for a moment, before the roar of engines caught their attention and the GT-R came around the corner.

**“They’re here!”** Kenta exclaimed, holding up a stopwatch. As the GT-R spun around the pylon, Kenta started the watch, in time for Keisuke’s own FD to come into view. The two cars passed, time flowing for just an instance, then resuming back to normal as Keisuke raced around the pylon too and vanished. Kenta looked at the paused stopwatch and opened his phone, dialing a number and putting it to his ear. **“Fumihiro, it’s Kenta. They just circled the pylon. My stopwatch says six seconds.”** he hummed for a second, then hang up.

“What was that about?”

**“They asked me to note the distance margin. Something about Ryousuke’s simulations.”**

“Ah… so Takumi, what do you think of the race so far, huh?”

_“I’m a little scared about all this.”_

“Huh? Is this course’s downhill that difficult?”

_“No… no… how do I put this… uh, even if a car’s settings are tuned for the hillclimb, once you go up you have to come down, right?”_

“Yeah…”

_“So, in other words, Keisuke has run the downhill as many times as he has the hillclimb, so how downhill techniques have steadily gotten better too.”_

“Wouldn’t the same apply to you too?”

_“No, the power differential is too great. There’s no way in hell my 86 could keep up with his FD on an uphill. Still, the FD is incredibly fast, even on the downhill. I don’t think there’s much of a difference between us anymore.”_

“You’re serious?” Takumi nodded.

_“I get that general idea from watching him practice. As the resident downhiller for this team, it’s so unsettling to see.”_ Takumi’s expression shifted oddly. _“It both thrills and terrifies me, the prospect of being shown Keisuke’s true power when he takes the downhill with full intent.”_

~0~

“Y’see, in a street race, a gap of six seconds isn’t really that big or great.” Joshima’s voice caught Tomiguchi’s attention once more. “If that FD is unable to catch up to Ko on the downhill, then we win. _But_, if he does catch up-”

“W-Well, if there’s no clear winner, then we just go into the next round.” a Purple Shadow member interrupted. “Right?”

“Completely incorrect.” Joshima stated firmly. “If this isn’t settled in the first round, it would prove disastrous for Ko, because in the second round, that FD will get to go first, and you all should know exactly what that means. Both racers will feel the pressure of being unable to see their opponent. Even if the distance between them opens up, it will be a dead heat where every millisecond counts.” as Purple Shadow began muttering to each other about that, Joshima locked eyes with Tomiguchi, and cocked him a small smile.

He knew he was listening in, and was just letting it happen. How thoughtful. Joshima broke eye contact and walked over to the case of water, pulling out another bottle and chugging it before wiping his brow, muttering to himself. It wasn’t really that hot was it?

Fumihiro sighed loudly from nearby, causing Tomiguchi to pull his attention back towards him.

“Ugh… now it’s getting to where it’s hard for me to breath.” the siren bemoaned. “We've never faced this kind of development before.” Tomiguchi wandered forward.

“If this is about that six second time lag, I think it might have forced him to push into a very dangerous zone.” Ryousuke released a very audible sigh at that.

**“Even if things went according to the scenario I have scripted, his chances of winning are fifty-fifty. His opponent is one of the highest caliber.”**

“Hey! I can hear their engines!” a Purple Shadow member yelled, catching everyone’s attention. “They’re about to tear around the final corner!” Tomiguchi watched silently, his ears twitching, and after a moment, the GT-R came flying around the corner, the FD hot on its tail.

It’s a stalemate, and they’re going into a second round.

~0~

**“Keisuke made it to the second round!”** Kenta exclaimed excitedly, and Takumi’s expression lightened slightly.

_“What a relief, huh?”_ Nejibana commented from nearby, watching Tsuyoshi fly just out of her reach. _“Master Keisuke will be able to win in the second round!”_ Takumi didn’t respond, still anxious.

But, he did believe his familiar. Keisuke would finish it soon. He could feel it.

~0~

“We’re starting the second round!” Fumihiro exclaimed as Tomiguchi watched from nearby.

“Something about all this makes me anxious, Ryousuke.” he said, his eyes focused on Joshima.

**“Hmm?”**

“Joshima doesn’t look all too put out by there being a second round. In fact, he almost looks smug, if a little irritated.” Ryousuke shifted beside him and he knew he was looking too.

**“Huh. You’re right, he does.”** Ryousuke responded.

“_GO_!”

“What do you think it means?” the two cars rushed by and Fumihiro made his way towards them.

**“No clue.”**

“So.” Fumihiro said as he came to a stop beside them. “Did the first round go according to plan, Ryousuke?”

**“Indeed it did. The first round was one of smart progression, but… there’s a small hole in it.”**

“Huh?”

**“How will our opponent react to such a strategy? We’ll find out this round. This will be a turbulent one, you can count on that.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW it's one more chapter. Ignore my excited note screaming from last chapter it was a lie. (Kiyana)
> 
> If this was 1 chapter, it be like 7-8k words sjhfjd (Gaysuke_Takahashi)


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the race ends and the curtains close on a soft note

“Sounds to me like they’ve started a second round.” Daiki commented, his tail shifting around. It’s been a long night, he kinda wants to go home.

“Mmm.”

“I guess that FD was fast enough on the downhill to warrant another round. This will make things tough for Purple Shadow. Both cars have big frames, so pulling ahead on the hillclimb will be particularly difficult, so the deciding factor of this race is probably going to be whatever strategy each team has cooked up.” Sakai hissed quietly.

“Your observation is pretty accurate, but… something about this _bothers_ me.”

“Huh?”

“Well, Ryousuke Takahashi is a cunning opponent, and his strategy is a good one, but I don’t think Hoshino could have failed to see this coming. It was, after all, he who chose to lead for the first round. If he loses, then for a driver called ‘God Foot’, wouldn’t that be far too little planning?”

“Well-”

“I think,” Sakai plowed through Daiki’s response. “That Hoshino has some sort of plan in mind. That’s what my gut is telling me, anyway.” he fell silent, the leaves rustling and the quiet, muffled mutterings of other bystanders being the only sounds around. Even the insect life had fallen silent. Daiki couldn’t help but feel it was an omen of sorts. Something was going to happen this round.

Just what was it? And what would it mean?

~0~

Keisuke grimaced, agitation running up his spine as his glances in his rearview told him that the R34 behind him was starting to ride the FD’s bumper. Obviously he was getting impatient.

“Ugh, I get it, you old fossil! You’ve got better traction than I do! Don’t get so close to my damn bumper over it!” he clicked his tongue. “I know from the first round that I lose when coming out of corners on the hillclimb, but despite that I know that I can’t let him pass. No matter how much he rides my damn bumper, if I can keep outrunning him until the turnaround point, this race is mine!” he continued on, keeping his pace, when suddenly the R34 swerved from behind him and began trying to pull ahead.

That was almost enough to make him crush his steering wheel. Keisuke growled.

“Oh, _fuck_ that! I don’t know what kind of power that car packs, but there’s absolutely no way I’d let you pass me here!” he pressed his foot on the accelerator as he neared a corner, pulling back ahead of the GT-R and forcing it back behind him. He wasn’t getting passed here, and not now.

~0~

Kenta scoffed as he looked around at everyone muttering to themselves, agitation clear in his limited expression. He tapped his claws against his scales.

_‘The hell is all this? Everyone’s muttering and shifting, it’s like they’re all expecting something to happen. Give me a damn break, there’s no reason anything should happen.’_ he turned his eyes towards the pylon on the road. _‘Soon they’ll be here, and the FD will still be in the lead, and they’ll circle around, and head back down. Keisuke’s victory will be certain!’_

“Hey! I can see their headlights!” someone yelled, and Kenta saw Takumi perk from the corner of his eye. He himself focused on the lights coming from around the corner, excitement filling him when he saw the FD was ahead, just as planned. His heart dropped, though, then the R34 suddenly pulled beside the FD, the both of them heading towards the pylon at the same time. It was like time slowed to a snail’s pace as they began to circle around the pylon at the same time, the R34 taking the inside path, and the lead, as they both raced back the way they came. Everyone around them exploded into sound, and Kenta himself merely hovered there, wide eyed. He barely registered the sound of a bottle colliding with the ground beside him.

**“Wh… what the hell just happened?”**

“That was an absolutely _insane_ thing to do.” Matsumoto said, sounding vaguely shaken. “That GT-R came charging in without hesitation!”

**“If Keisuke hadn’t moved forward as he did, it would’ve been a terrible head-on crash!”** Kenta snapped. **“FUCK THAT!”**

_“... That’s not what would have happened at all.”_ Takumi finally spoke, catching their attention. _“Their trajectories may have looked the same, but the GT-R entered a spin turn nearly a split-second earlier then Keisuke’s FD. It was planned, and that’s where the lead was quickly snatched from us.”_ Takumi clicked his tongue and clicked, agitated. _“It was so well planned that Keisuke’s probably in shock.”_

~0~

“Our opponent pulled off something that has Kenta and the rest shaken at the turnaround point.” Fumihiro said as he closed his phone. “Sounds like the tables have been turned.” Ryousuke let out a tired sigh.

**“Just as I thought he would, Hoshino didn’t pass up the opportunity when it was presented.”**

“This puts us at a huge disadvantage.”

**“Well, all we can do now I bet on Keisuke’s natural ability to spring into action. The rougher and more heated this race becomes, the higher the probability. More turbulence means greater chances of success.”** Ryousuke glanced at Joshima. **“And we’re not the only ones who know this.”**

~0~

“Hoshino pulled ahead at the turnaround point!” someone exclaimed nearby, causing Daiki to sit up in alarm from his reclined position against Sakai. He’d been about passed out, Outsiders. Maybe it was good that the cheering woke him up. If he passed out here there’d be no getting him and his car back home, unless he or Sakai called to get someone up here to tow it.

“Huh. So that was his plan.” Sakai commented, thankfully ignoring Daiki’s previous leaning on him. Engine roars caused them to look down the road, just in time for the R34 and the FD to full-drift around the corner, the FD’s aura absolutely outraged as it rode the GT-R’s bumper.

“Drift versus drift!?” someone exclaimed.

“Isn’t the GT-R A 4WD!?” another yelled back. Both cars raced by.

“This race is starting to get pretty heated!” the two drifted around the next corner and were gone.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Daiki questioned, genuinely confused. "The GT-R shouldn't be able to drift?"

“Thisss… could be something that has to do with Hoshino’s plan?” Sakai hazarded a guess. “I mean, by now his tires have lost their grip, meaning that it’ll be easier for him to understeer on downhill corners. If he fishtailed the rear section at corner entry, he could control the front-end of his vehicle. It looks completely reckless, but there’s sound reasoning behind it. Not to mention that this course is on the narrower side, so by drifting he can block off the FD and not let it pass. I’d hate to be in the skin of Takahashi Keisuke right now…”

~0~

“I… don’t get it.” Tomiguchi heard someone say, causing him to turn his attention back over towards Purple Shadow. “They’re both _drifting_. Wouldn’t it be more sensible for them to race with a little more care for their tires?” Joshima chuckled.

“Maybe.” he responded. “But sometimes the only ones who know what they should be doing and what’s more sensible are the ones behind the wheel.” he smiled a little. “As I’d thought, those two seems to be cut from the same cloth. The only thing we can do is just keep quiet and watch those two fools engage in their battle of wills. They’re both the center of attention, and this stage is theirs.” there was a shifting of feathers beside him, and Tomiguchi turned in time to see Ryousuke stretching, and nearly hitting Fumihiro with a wing on accident. He snickered.

**“Sorry.”** Ryousuke said to the siren. **“Anyway, one of the corners called up to say they’re both drifting, I’m not surprised that Keisuke’s doing it, but Hoshino… well, there’s a logical reason behind his repeated usage of the tactic, unlike Keisuke. He’s just responding to it all with competitive spirit rather than reasoning, fight drift with drift and all that.”** Ryousuke huffed a little.** “There _is_ one aspect in which Kouzou Hoshino and Keisuke closely resemble each other. Keisuke makes no effort to disguise his feelings, and his actions mirror that, which in turn fuels Hoshino’s fighting spirit. _That_ is what suddenly make this a battle of drifting.”**

~0~

Hoshino grimaced as he drifted a corner, feeling his GT-R slip from its line a little.

_‘Shit!’_ he growled. _‘My tires! Damn it! This is causing my car to overshoot all on it’s own!’_ as the next corner drew ever so closer, the FD pulled alongside him, causing him to scoff as they entered the corner together. The FD began pulling ahead, and, at the last second, the R34 bumped into the rear side of the vehicle, forcing it towards the rail. It bumped off the rail, swerving only slightly before recovering and pulling ahead much quicker than before, the aura around it nearly palpable as it sped ahead. As they came around the corner to the finish, he watched as his opponent leaned an arm out of his car, fish clenched high in the air in victory. Hoshino scoffed.

“The gall of some kids.” he said, amused, he couldn’t find reasons to be mad, as it reminded himself when he was younger.

~0~

**“KEISUKE WON!”** Kenta yelled excitedly, it looked like he was ready to take flight and circle around the mountain from joy. Instead, he settled for flying around Takumi and Matsumoto instead as the two smiled, relieved. The night was over now, no more races. Soon they could go home and finally sleep. If the excitement allowed them.

“Kenta’s particularly excited, it seems.” Matsumoto commented, watching the dragon loop around them quickly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he took off towards Keisuke at this very second.”

_“Well, I don’t think he should, it’s likely that they’ll come up here so we can regroup with the vans.”_

“Yeah, you’re right about that.”

**“Keisuke might stay down there to get ready for his timed run, though!”** Kenta exclaimed, pausing in his circling.

_“Right… well, still wait up here. He’ll join us when he’s done.”_ Kenta let out a vaguely impatient sound, but continued to circle anyway with renewed vigor, obviously excited for the timed run.

The rest of D, minus Keisuke, joined them at the top after a while, tailed closely by Purple Shadow, who obviously wanted to watch Keisuke attempt to beat the course’s uphill record. Takumi eyed the two seraphs, he wanted to go ask now, but was waiting for Keisuke to complete his run. As if summoned by that thought, Keisuke rushed up in his FD, Tomiguchi stopping the timer as he passed.

**“How was that?”** Kenta asked.

“Nope, no good.” the cat responded, and Kenta let out a swear.

**“GAH! Even though he set a new personal record on the second and third attempts!?**” Keisuke’s FD came to a screeching stop and remained still for a moment, before slowly driving up to one of the vans and parking. As Keisuke got out, Hoshino approached him.

“No good?” he asked, and Keisuke merely shrugged.

“It can’t be helped.” he responded passively.

“Too bad, then. Still, you ran a pretty good race.” Hoshino’s expression hardened. “Do you mind if I say somethin’?”

“Huh?”

“Well… you’re not the kind of driver who should be here forever, you know. If you like, I can introduce you to the right contacts.” Keisuke looked stunned, before his expression shifted to something a little more serious.

“I appreciate the offer, but there are still things I have to do here.” both were silent for a moment, before Hoshino smiled at him.

“I see. Well, I guess I can’t force you to do anything. At least I offered.” and with that, he turned and walked away with a wave. “Guess I’ll see ya around.” Keisuke visibly let out a sigh and leaned against the nearby van, watching him go, and Takumi finally uprooted himself from atop his 86, stretching his stiff limbs before making his way over towards Joshima, Ryousuke catching up and taking stride behind him.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

_“I’m going to ask Joshima something.”_ was all Takumi said in response, and Ryousuke didn’t press. As they continued forward, a Purple Shadow member noticed them and pointed them out to Joshima, prompting the seraph to turn around and look at them questioningly. _“Ah…”_ Takumi hesitated for a second. _“Would you mind if I asked you something?”_

“Not at all.” Joshima responded. “What’s on your mind?”

_“Ah, well, you see, your driving style reminds me a lot of my father, and I was wondering… well, if you’re feeling up to it, would you mind if I watched you do a run from your passenger seat?”_ Ryousuke gave him a surprised look, as did Joshima and those in Purple Shadow.

“Are you sure?”

_“Positive. Maybe watching you might help me figure some things out.”_ there was silence, before Joshima nodded.

“Sure, kid.” he responded pleasantly, much to everyone else’s surprise. “Though, I’ll warn you, my style is highly irregular, and completely my own. I have no clue what a driver at your level will learn from it.” Takumi’s expression brightened a little as Joshima waved him over towards his S2000, prompting him to shift to a more human appearance and hurry over. Ryousuke remained stunned for a moment, before shaking his head and making his way over to Fumihiro.

“What’s going on?” the siren asked.

**“Joshima’s letting Takumi ride shotgun.”** Ryousuke responded, watching the S2000 drive from the lot and onto the road before pausing momentarily.

“What?” Fumihiro sounded taken aback.

**“My reaction as well. Joshima agreed to it most readily and agreeably. Honestly, I’m jealous of Takumi. I’d like to be sitting in that passenger seat myself.”** both watched as the vehicle sped off. **“For him, an experience this valuable will almost never come along. Simply being able to see the techniques of Toshiya Joshima up close…”**

“Yeah, I understand what you mean.”

**“I can only wonder what Takumi will take away from it all. It’ll be fun to find out. Once Ibaraki is conquered, we’ll face our toughest challenge yet.”**

~0~

It was boiling, hotter than it had been the night before. The SpeedStars trio stood in the shade of the gas pumps, unmoving in the face of the heat.

“Not this situation again...” Iketani sighed, the three of them wilting. Itsuki looked like he was about to collapse.

“You three look as lively as stone.” Yuichi said as he approached, looking hardly phased by the summer heat. “And you, Kenji. I’d’ve expected you to have found a girl to hang out with by now or something. Your love life’s dead in the water, huh?”

“Don’t say somethin’ like that.” Kenji whined.

“Well, when I was younger, even I always had a woman or two around.”

“Well, it’s not his fault somethin’ about him makes chicks _avoid_ him…” Itsuki muttered, his gaze locked on Kenji.

“That’s for sure.” Iketani tacked on, also setting his gaze on Kenji.

“Oh, ha ha _very funny_!” Kenji snapped. “Pick on the single guy, why don’t ya! Why should you care about girls anyway, you have a boyfriend, don’t you?” Itsuki snickered at him, and before Kenji could take issue with that too, a blue Impreza pulled into the lot, catching Itsuki’s attention immediately.

“Hey! Takumi’s here!” he exclaimed, running from out of the shade towards his friend, Kenji following close behind while Iketani merely walked over.

“Hey.” Takumi greeted.

“Takumi, rumor has it that you won again!” Kenji exclaimed.

“Well… no… how can I put this? I guess it was more of a draw than anything.”

“Takumiiii!” Itsuki whined. “Just say it already! A win is a win!”

“Well… I can’t really say that, looking at the big picture.” Yuichi approached, eyeing the car, just as Iketani was.

“Hey, Takumi, where’s the 86?” he asked.

“Ah… the suspension and underbody was damaged during the race yesterday. It’s still being fixed.

“That means you’re free today, right!?” Itsuki asked excitedly, receiving a nod from Takumi. “Excellent! Then what do you say we do a long overdue run together? Just us, Koichiro, and Kenji?” Takumi took note of the public usage of Iketani’s first name in stride.

“That actually sounds pretty fun!” Kenji exclaimed. “Maybe we can get Takumi to show us a thing or two!”

“Yeah! Sounds like a good time.”

~0~

_“You have any idea when the 86 will be fixed, kid?”_ Bunta asked, watching Takumi get in his Impreza.

_“Sometime soon, I hope.”_ Takumi responded passively, accepting the cup of water when it was handed to him. Nejibana moved around awkwardly on the car’s dash.

_“I still don’t like it.”_ she announced, causing Bunta to almost crack a smile.

_“Doesn’t matter if you like it or not, brat.”_ he responded, causing the little spider to click at him agitatedly.

_“I’ll be back soon.”_ Takumi said as he rolled up the window. Bunta watched silently as he drove off, before heading back inside and closing the door. The bell rang a little, and Bunta looked up at one of the webs, not surprised to see Tama still sound asleep. The old spider’s been getting less rest lately, worrying about his hatchling being so far away. Bunta could understand that, but it didn’t keep him from sleeping soundly. Tama was just overprotective of his kid, even if he did deny those claims.

With Takumi, Nejibana was sliding around on the dash, having not found a foothold and wondering how on Earth her sire could ever like the damn vehicle, because she sure didn’t.

_“I hate this!”_ she announced once more, and Takumi merely snickered at her.

_“Not my fault.”_ he responded, drifting the Impreza around a corner as his mind wandered a little. He found himself thinking about what Joshima and Ryosuke told him again.

_“You see, kid, no matter how many techniques you aquire, once you think ‘This is good enough,’ it becomes hard to maintain that line of thought. Unless you work hard, always aiming higher and higher, you’ll never be able to advance to a higher level. To me, that’s what it means to master the road. I’m not young anymore, kid. It takes all I have to maintain my current state. I fear I’m starting to drift too close toward losing my humanity. Oh, but you! You’re young! You should be able to aim even higher pretty easily. If you discover anything, no matter how small, while riding in my passenger seat, then I’ll be satisfied. I feel that our meeting was one of great significance.”_ Joshima’s words were the first to echo in his head as Nejibana continued muttering to herself.

_“Takumi,”_ Ryousuke’s came next. _“Despite how you feel about the technique aspect, you still won the race. Don’t forget today’s experiences. You’re still learning and developing, you and D both.”_

~0~

“So.” Ryousuke looked up from his laptop as he sat on his balcony, locking eyes with Gou as the vampire sat next to him. “You’ll be coming out our way soon.”

**“Yes.”** Ryousuke responded easily. **“Shouldn’t be long now. Just a couple of battles left in Ibaraki.”**

“To be honest, I’m pretty excited about it. Dunno about the rest of my team, or the rest of Kanagawa’s teams, though.”

**“It’s of no matter, as long as you’re looking forward to it. There’s bound to be others looking forward to it as well.”** Gou chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” they sat in silence for a little while, not really having anything to say. After a little bit, there was a soft flutter of wings, before a crow landed on the railing near them. It cocked its head at them curiously, before it turned its head to what Ryousuke assumed was empty space. The space shifted a little, not really surprising, and the crow flew off.

It was almost comforting to know that they had backing like they did.

**“How’s your brother? He doing any better?”**

“No.” Gou’s expression fell. “In fact, he’s doing worse. It’s almost like he isn’t Rin anymore. He’s stopped coming home, you know. It is like he knows that you’ll be coming to our prefecture soon and so he’s started tormenting the racers on his home pass again.” Ryousuke’s expression fell as well.

**“Is he still hurting so badly over it all?”** he asked quietly. **“I tried to stay in touch, but he just shut me out. Every time I try to get in contact with him it either never goes through or there’s just… silence. It’s unnerving sometimes.”**

“I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is, I want it to stop.” Gou shifted. “I want my aniki back, Ryousuke. I hate all of this.” Ryousuke didn’t know how to respond to that. “Can we talk about something else?”

**“Sure. Any topic you like.”**

The thought about their compatibility marks was scratching in the back of Gou’s throat. He should mention it now, it would be a good opportunity, he would never get a better chance than this.

“Ryousuke…”

**“Hmm?”**

“... what do you feel, when we touch? Electricity down your spine?” Ryousuke looked confused by the sudden topic, but nodded.

**“Yeah, it confuses me sometimes.”**

“Well, there’s a reason for it.” Gou swallowed. “You see, it means that we’re compatible.” Ryousuke rose a brow. “So we have matching marks.”

**“You mean, like Takumi and Keisuke?”**

“Yes, exactly.” Gou shifted, hesitating a moment, before lifting the front of his hoodie to show Ryousuke the sandy yellow swirl situated on his front. “You should have a similar, if darker colored swirl somewhere on you. Likely where you haven’t been able to notice, like behind your ear, or on your back.” Ryousuke hummed.

**“Well, you can check if you’d like.”** he responded, turning his back to the vampire. Gou jumped to it, checking Ryousuke’s ears first, before hesitating on his back.

“Are you sure?”

**“Just get on with it.”**

“... alright. I’ll start with your wings, okay?”

**“Whatever you think is necessary. I’m getting a bit excited.”** Gou took a shaky breath, before taking one of the feathery limbs in hand. His feathers were surprisingly soft, obviously well taken care of. He gently searched the limb for discoloration, ignoring the way his face heated up as Ryousuke hummed a little and tensed under his cold fingers. When both wings came back negative, he hooked a finger against one of the wing holes on his shirt and gently pulled, peeking in at Ryousuke’s back. Right there, a stark black against Ryousuke’s skin, situated right between his wings, was his mark. Gou ran a finger over it and Ryousuke shuttered. **“Did you find it? That feels odd.”**

“... yep. I found it alright. Between your wings, what an odd place.” he slowly pulled away, and Ryousuke turned to face him, Gou’s face was red like a tomato. It was funny and cute.

**“Well… maybe it’s there to symbolize something. Like how you were the one to teach me how to fly.”** he smiled softly, almost laughing at how Gou’s face turned a deeper shade of red at that. It reminded him of when he teased Keisuke about Takumi a year ago.

“Y-yeah, maybe.” Gou responded. “I wouldn’t be surprised, sometimes marks do that.” they sat in silence again as the sun slowly set behind the horizon.

**“Gou?”**

“What?”

**“Just… what does this mean for us?”** Gou was a little surprised by the question.

“What do you mean by that?”

**“Well… I know that Keisuke and Takumi won’t care in the slightest, though Takumi’ll be happy for us. But-”**

“He won’t find out until we want him to.” Gou interrupted. “I’m not gonna let him dictate my love life just because the creature I’m compatible with just so happens to be you.” Ryousuke was silent at that. “And besides, he’s a human, I’m not. But I hope it won’t have to come to that.” Ryousuke gave him a soft look.

**“Me too. I’m sure it won’t.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WITH THAT CUTE SEGMENT DONE, THAT'S THE END OF VOLUME 4! This one was the LONGEST volume to date! I'm so excited to have finished this one up, and I'm absolutely thrilled to not be writing this alone anymore! I'll say that having my Co-Writer on board has made this ride much smoother than I'd thought. The next volume will begin within the next week or so, we have so much planned for it. Stay tuned! (Kiyana)
> 
> Holy hell, I couldn't imagine how fun it'd be to write together with a friend, a friend I made because of this fic series. I'm so hyped for volume 5 as fifth and final stages are some of my favorite stages of the series. I'll definitely be able to write more for that volume. See you there! (Gaysuke_Takahashi)


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